When the cornea does not get enough oxygen, there is corneal hypoxia. This is the most common complication of contact lens wear, especially extended-wear lenses.
The cornea has no blood supply of its own, so it gets oxygen only from tears and directly from the atmosphere. Sleeping in or overwearing your contact lenses reduces the oxygen supply to the cornea and causes neovascularization, or blood vessel formation on the cornea. 3 remedies for corneal hypoxia: 1. change the contact lens material to a more oxygen permeable lens wear. 2. decrease contact lens wear 3. discontinue contact lens wear.
Los Alamos Family Eyecare, P.C. 