I'm 40, and I've worn glasses almost all my life. Ten years ago, I got soft contacts to wear during stage performances when glasses were inappropriate. I was hard to fit, and I saw a specialist who tried several brands before finding one that fit right. I haven't worn them for several years now. They've been sitting in their case all this time, and the saline liquid has long since dried out. I'm going to be performing again in a few months, just for a day, and I'd like to wear them. My eyeglass prescription hasn't changed. Is there any danger in wearing contacts that are so old? Should I just re-soak them in saline, or are there special preparations I should make? I don't want to buy new ones just for one day.

R.N.

As a cornea specialist, I frequently see infections from a variety of different causes related to contact lenses. By far the most common cause is leaving contacts in at bedtime. When you are awake, soft contact lenses move with each blink, allowing tears to flow under the contact and constantly moisturizing the eye's outer layer (the cornea). However, when you are asleep, your eyes do not blink, so no tears flow beneath the contact lens and the area of the cornea underneath the lens dries out. A dry cornea may develop tiny cracks and abrasions, allowing harmful bacteria to enter and infect the eye.

To specifically answer your question, I would under no circumstances wear a soft contact lens that had been sitting in a dried-out case for several years. I doubt any attempt to hydrate the lens would be successful. Even if that happened to work, the deposits on the lens would be extreme, and I would not be surprised if the contact lens surface rubbed your cornea and caused severe eye pain/infection. There would also certainly be a high risk of infection, as any of a number of bacteria could be living in the old contact lens case.

The best and safest course of action is to get a new fitting for contacts, which I certainly hope you will strongly consider. Although the fitting may be an extra expense (since it is not covered by most insurance plans), you can certainly ask the contact lens fitter for some contact lens samples, so you do not need to buy new contacts for your event.