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    Question

    Can I wear my scleral lenses when I have a cold or the flu?

    Being sick doesn't automatically mean a day in glasses, and for some wearers glasses barely help. But illness changes a few things: drier eyes, more naps, more hand-to-face contact. Here's how wearers handle it.

    By the Scleral Lens Team · Last reviewed October 2, 2026 · 5 published sources cited

    The short answer

    Many wearers keep wearing their lenses through a cold, as long as their eyes feel and look normal. The things to watch are naps (lenses must come out before any sleep), dry eyes from some cold and allergy medicines, and extra care with handwashing. If your eye turns red, sticky, watery or painful, take the lens out and call your eye doctor, and ask your doctor about wearing lenses if you're very unwell or feverish.

    Key points

    • A mild cold doesn't usually mean stopping lens wear, if your eyes are fine.
    • Take the lenses out before any nap. Sick days are when people doze off.
    • Some cold and allergy medicines can dry your eyes.
    • Wash and dry your hands well before every lens handling.
    • A red, sticky or painful eye means lenses out and a call to your eye doctor.

    The short version

    A cold on its own isn’t a reason to stop wearing scleral lenses. Many wearers keep them in, especially those who can’t see well enough in glasses to get through the day. What changes when you’re sick is everything around the lens: you’re more tired, you touch your face more, your eyes may be drier, and you’re far more likely to fall asleep on the couch.

    The rule that doesn’t bend: take your lenses out before any nap. The FDA lists sleeping in daily wear lenses as something not to do, because it may increase your chance of infection or irritation.[4] Sick days are exactly when wearers report waking up with a lens still in. If you think you might doze off, switch to glasses first. See can you sleep in scleral lenses?

    What changes when you’re sick

    Drier eyes from medicines. The National Eye Institute lists dry eye as a possible side effect of some medicines used for colds and allergies.[1] Wearers describe cold and allergy tablets leaving their eyes so dry that lenses felt tight or hard to remove. If you need these medicines, ask your doctor or pharmacist whether they’re likely to dry your eyes, and ask your fitter how to adjust: some wearers use more preservative-free lubricating drops or do an extra midday refill. See dry eyes while wearing sclerals.

    Mucus and smearing. Wearers often notice more mucus in their tears during colds, allergy flares and sinus trouble, which can smear the front of the lens or cloud the fluid behind it. See mucus in a scleral lens.

    Pink eye can follow a cold. The National Eye Institute lists a recent respiratory infection, like a cough or a cold, as one of the things that make pink eye more likely.[2] If your eye becomes red, sticky, or watery, take the lens out and call your eye doctor. See scleral lenses and pink eye.

    Coughing and sneezing. Violent sneezing or coughing can break a small blood vessel on the white of the eye, leaving a bright red patch.[3] It looks alarming but is typically painless. See red spot or blood under a scleral lens.

    Handling lenses safely while you’re ill

    • Wash and dry your hands well before every insertion and removal, and after blowing your nose. Use a lint-free towel.
    • Keep tissues away from your lens setup and off the counter where your lens, case and plunger sit.
    • Don’t rub your eyes. Rinse with preservative-free saline or use a lubricating drop instead.
    • Clean and disinfect as usual. Being sick isn’t the time to skip a night of disinfection.
    • Keep your backup glasses handy. The FDA advises every lens wearer to have a backup pair with a current prescription.[4]
    • Ask before new drops. The FDA advises asking your eye care professional before using any medicine or eye product, including ones you buy over the counter.[4]

    When to stay in glasses

    Wearers commonly choose a glasses day when they:

    • Have a fever or feel too unwell to handle lenses carefully
    • Expect to sleep on and off through the day
    • Can’t keep their hands clean (for example, a heavy cold with constant nose-blowing)
    • Notice their eyes feel different from normal

    If glasses don’t give you usable vision, talk to your fitter ahead of time about a sick-day plan, such as shorter wear with extra rinses, or wearing a lens in your better eye only for a day.

    What wearers say

    • Most carry on. Many wearers say they’ve worn their lenses through colds without trouble, with the warning never to nap in them.
    • Medicines are the surprise. Some were caught out by how dry their eyes became on cold and allergy medicines, and by a lens that became hard to remove.
    • Illness can flare existing eye conditions. Wearers with dry eye, graft-versus-host disease, or other ocular surface conditions often say being ill makes their eyes redder and more uncomfortable for a while, and some needed treatment from their eye doctor to settle the flare.

    What to ask your fitter

    • Is it OK for me to keep wearing my lenses with a cold, given my eye condition?
    • If I’m taking cold or allergy medicine, should I change my drops or refill more often?
    • What’s my plan if I’m too sick to handle lenses and glasses don’t help much?
    • Which symptoms mean I should stop wearing the lens and call you?

    Common questions

    Do I need a new case or new lenses after a cold?

    Not usually, if your eyes stayed healthy. Keep up your normal cleaning and disinfecting routine. If you develop an eye infection such as pink eye, that's different: ask your eye doctor how to disinfect your lenses and whether to replace your case and tools.

    Can I wear my lenses with COVID?

    Wearers who asked were generally told to check with their doctor, since how you feel and how your eyes behave while you're ill matter more than the virus itself. If you're feverish, exhausted, or likely to fall asleep, glasses are the safer choice for that day.

    I sneezed hard and now there's a red patch on my eye. Is that the lens?

    MedlinePlus lists violent sneezing or coughing as a cause of a broken blood vessel on the white of the eye. It's typically painless and doesn't affect vision. Tell your eye doctor, and see our page on red spots under a scleral lens for when it's urgent.

    Can I use decongestant eye drops for red eyes while I'm sick?

    Ask your eye doctor first. The FDA advises asking your eye care professional before using any medicine or eye product, even ones you buy without a prescription.

    Keep reading

    I think I have pink eye. What do I do with my scleral lenses?

    Take your lenses out and see your eye doctor. The National Eye Institute advises contact lens wearers with pink eye symptoms to see a doctor rather than wait it out, because a lens-related infection can look like ordinary pink eye. Don't put the lenses back in until your doctor says the eye has healed, and ask how to disinfect your lenses and whether to replace your case, plunger and other tools so you don't reinfect yourself.

    Can you sleep in scleral lenses?

    No. Take your scleral lenses out before any sleep, including a short nap. Across contact lens wearers, sleeping in lenses raises the risk of eye infection six- to eightfold, and closing your eyes over a scleral lens cuts the oxygen reaching your cornea further. The only exception is supervised medical treatment that a doctor prescribes for a specific eye condition.

    There's a red spot or blood on my eye under my scleral lens. Is that serious?

    A flat, bright red patch on the white of the eye, with no pain, no discharge and no change in vision, is often a subconjunctival hemorrhage: a small broken blood vessel under the clear surface layer. It usually clears on its own in a few weeks, but tell your eye doctor, and ask before wearing the lens over it. Pain, blurred vision, light sensitivity, discharge, blood inside the lens or on the eye after a blow to the eye, or bleeding with bruising elsewhere are different: remove the lens and call today.

    Why is there mucus in my scleral lens, and how do I stop it?

    Some mucus is normal: your eye makes it all the time, and a scleral lens can collect it. Mucus already in the eye when the lens goes in is a common source, so rinsing and clearing the eye before insertion helps many wearers. Mucus that keeps building up during the day usually points to allergy, dry eye, lid disease, or a lens edge that lets debris under. Yellow or green discharge, or mucus with pain, redness, or blur, is not routine: remove the lens and call today.

    Sources

    1. National Eye Institute. Causes of Dry Eye. Last updated December 6, 2024. nei.nih.gov
    2. National Eye Institute. Pink Eye. Last updated November 5, 2025. nei.nih.gov
    3. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Subconjunctival hemorrhage. Review date April 29, 2025. medlineplus.gov
    4. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Everyday Eye Care (contact lenses). Content current as of December 4, 2023. fda.gov
    5. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Contact Lens Risks. Content current as of September 4, 2018. fda.gov

    Last updated October 2, 2026. Found an error or a newer study? Let us know and we'll correct the page.