ACTRESS Tori Spelling delivered a message to all contact lens wearers after she was forced to don an eyepatch.
The 49-year-old confessed to sleeping in her single-use contact lenses for days on end, after being questioned on why one of her eyes was covered.
Tori Spelling debuted her eyepatch in an Instagram post with her stylist Laura RugettiSplash
Tori took to Instagram to detail how not changing her daily contacts had landed her with a corneal infectionInstagram/torispelling
The actress first showed off her eye gear in an Instagram post last month, in which she donned a pink bejewelled eyepatch that matched her outfit.
She revealed that she was diagnosed with an eye ulcer on her Instagram Story on 24 March, when she shared a photo of herself lying down with an eye patch.
Tori wrote: “Thx to all the well wishes and concern. Everyone is asking if I scratched my cornea. It’s actually an ulcer on my eye. Antibiotic drops and dr said it will ‘hopefully’ heal in seven to 10 days.”
Also known as microbial keratitis, corneal ulcers are an infection on the clear window on the front of the eye causing a painful red
eye and sometimes blurred vision, according to Moorfields Eye Hospital.
You might feel like something is in your eye at first if you’re suffering from the condition, but your eye will increasingly begin to hurt as an ulcer develops.
Sometimes you’ll be able to see the ulcer, which will look like a small white spot on the cornea over the coloured part of your eye.
“Microbial keratitis can be a serious condition if not treated and can sometimes affect your vision and may leave a scar, even with the correct treatment,” Moorfields Eye Hospital said.
To treat the ulcers, eye doctors typically prescribe antibiotic, antifungal or antiviral eye drops.
Tori shared a few more details on her diagnosis in a recent episode of her 90210mg podcast.
“It’s my fault — I did this to myself,” she explained.
“So, I have contacts, but I wear daily ones, and at the end of the day, whatever, I can make all the excuses I want… I don’t take them out. I sleep in them. It’s not healthy.”
To the distress of her co-hosts, Tori made a stunning admission when pressed on how long she wears the contacts: “I’ve been known to go maybe 20 days. I know…”
Her co-hosts emitted gaps of horror at her confession.
“I know you guys. It’s shaming,” Tori said in response.
But she said she’d been “totally transparent” about her habit with her eye doctor, who told her she was lucky to get away with consistently wearing dailies overnight.
Tori admitted that the ulcer “hurt so bad” but said her eye has been improving.
As for whether she plans to return to contact lenses, the actress said she plans to switch to 30-day lenses once her eye heals.
The ordeal seemed to have taught Tori a lesson.
“I got lucky this time,” she said. “Not going to take it for granted.”
You might get a corneal ulcer if don’t clean or store you contact lenses correctly or if you use disposable lenses multiple times.
Less commonly, the condition can develop due to a scratch on the surface of the eye or a pre-existing eye condition.
It’s not safe to sleep with your contact lenses in as it increases your risk of corneal infection five times over, the Sleep Foundation warned.
The risk is the same regardless of whether your wear soft, hard, decorative, or prescription lenses, it added.
“Sleeping in your lenses occasionally, or by accident, can also increase your risk of infection,” the Sleep Foundation said.
Meanwhile, Moorfields Eye Hospital advised you also avoid showering or swimming while wearing contact lenses, and always wash and dry your hands before touching them.