A new study shows a higher risk of infection with soft contacts, especially if worn overnight. Suddenly, lenses were comfortable, and so malleable they could be folded in half like a taco without breaking, unlike the stiff old-fashioned hard lenses. People could now go running and play sports without having to worry about their lenses falling out and being lost forever. But there are no such warnings on soft lenses and many patients go through the entire procedure of getting contact lenses without ever knowing about this risk.
Microbial keratitis is an infection of the cornea, which is the outer wall of the eye.
Of course, rigid lenses are not made out of tool materials anymore, but they have never reached the same cushy comfort level as the soft. They don't realize the risk. Rigid contacts are good for most types of vision problems, particularly for astigmatism, but require daily care. With soft lenses, people can wear them to a cocktail party and then put them away for a month without even touching them. She says she warns patients about the risks with contact lenses in general, but not about the soft lens risk per se because she doesn't believe that it's worse than the rigid.