Illinois Eye Doctor Warns That Wearing Contacts on Long Flights Can Cause Serious Eye Damage

A simple habit many travelers don’t think twice about — keeping contact lenses in for an entire long-haul flight — can lead to serious eye injury, according to an Illinois optometrist who is warning fliers ahead of busy travel seasons.

Valerie Kattouf, an Illinois-based optometrist, told Fox News Digital that the dry air inside an airplane cabin combined with hours of continuous contact lens wear can strip moisture from lenses and irritate the eyes. “The cabin air has significantly reduced humidity that can actually remove moisture from the contact lens and create more dryness,” Kattouf said.

The warning follows a case reported by the New York Post involving a traveler who said she temporarily lost vision in one eye after wearing her contact lenses throughout an 11-hour flight home from Greece, during roughly 24 hours of total travel. The woman also wore the lenses while swimming and showering, according to the outlet.

Within days of arriving home, she developed pain, light sensitivity and rapidly worsening vision. Doctors diagnosed her with a corneal ulcer, and she underwent weeks of treatment with eye drops. She was left with a small scar that continues to blur part of her vision, the Post reported.

Why Flights Are Especially Risky

Kattouf said extended contact lens wear during flights can produce dry-eye symptoms, including a “sandy, gritty feeling” and intermittent blurred vision. Falling asleep on a long or overnight flight compounds the risk. “People often sleep on long flights, which contributes to more risk with contact [lens] wear,” she said.

As a lens dries out, it can move less freely across the eye’s surface. Kattouf said removing an especially dry lens can disturb the epithelium — the outer layer of the cornea — causing significant irritation and potentially affecting vision.

What Travelers Can Do

Kattouf recommends packing an up-to-date pair of prescription glasses for long trips. “Wearing glasses during a long flight is more ideal for eye health and long-term comfortable contact [lens] wear,” she said.

Travelers who prefer to start a flight in contacts can switch to glasses before sleeping or partway through the trip, she suggested. For those who keep lenses in the whole time, single-use vials of artificial tears can help provide extra lubrication during flight.

The topic has drawn discussion among travelers online. One Reddit user wrote, “I [always] wear glasses on long flights. My eyes just feel so much more comfortable by the time I land, and I don’t have to worry about taking them out at the airport or on the plane, or sleeping on the plane.” Another traveler who kept contacts in for a flight wrote, “My eyes were so dry at the end, even with eyedrops.”