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    Wearing guide

    Your wearing schedule

    How many hours you can wear your lenses is a decision for your fitter, not your comfort level. Here's how to build up, what overwear means, and why lenses always come out before sleep.

    By the Scleral Lens Team · Updated October 2, 2026 · 6 published sources cited

    The short answer

    Follow the wearing schedule your fitter gives you, even when the lenses feel fine: scleral lenses can feel comfortable past the point that's safe for your eye. Build up as they direct, take the lenses out before any sleep, including naps, and ask whether a planned midday removal and refill would help you.

    Before you start

    Time: Building up usually happens over your first weeks, at your fitter's pace.

    • The written schedule from your fitter
    • A way to track hours (a phone note or calendar)
    • Backup glasses with a current prescription
    • Your removal plunger and saline, if you'll be out all day

    Step by step

    1. Get your schedule in writing

      Ask your fitter how many hours to start with, how fast to add time, and the most you should wear the lenses in a day.

    2. Track your hours

      Write down when each lens went in and came out, and anything you noticed. It's useful at your follow-up.

    3. Build up as directed

      Add time only as your fitter says. Don't jump ahead because a day went well.

    4. Stop at the limit, even when comfortable

      Take the lenses out at the end of your allowed time, whether or not they bother you.

    5. Take them out before any sleep

      Lenses come out before bed and before naps, including a doze on the couch or a plane.

    6. Ask about a midday refill

      If your vision fogs partway through the day, ask your fitter whether a planned removal, clean, and refill with fresh saline suits you.

    7. Keep your follow-up visits

      Your fitter checks how your cornea is handling the lens. Some changes don't cause symptoms.

    These are general steps. If your fitter taught you differently, follow your fitter: your lens and eyes are theirs to know. Print the mirror cards to keep by your sink.

    Your fitter sets the schedule

    There isn’t one wearing schedule that’s right for everyone. It depends on your condition, how your cornea responds to the lens, and the lens design. Your fitter will give you a starting number of hours and a plan for building up, and will adjust it after your follow-up visits. The FDA’s general advice is to follow the directions that come with your lenses and get regular eye exams.[1]

    For a sense of what’s typical, a prospective study followed 95 scleral lens wearers for a year. Among new wearers, average wear time rose from 9.8 hours a day at one month to 11.1 hours a day at twelve months.[4] That’s an average across a group. Your number may be lower or higher, and that’s for your fitter to decide.

    Why comfort isn’t the guide

    A scleral lens vaults over the cornea and rests on the white of the eye, so it often feels comfortable for a long time. That’s part of why people like them. But it also means you can feel fine past the point your fitter would want you to stop.

    One example is corneal swelling (edema), which can come with long wear of scleral lenses. Your fitter checks for it when your lenses come out at a visit. That check is one of the reasons follow-ups matter even when everything feels good.

    Overwear also raises infection risk. A report of Acanthamoeba infections in scleral lens wearers listed reduced oxygen to the corneal surface, from the lens’s large size and limited tear exchange, among the possible risk factors.[6]

    Never sleep in your lenses

    Lenses come out before bed and before any nap. The FDA advises against sleeping in daily wear lenses because it may increase your chance of infection or irritation.[1]

    The CDC published six cases of contact lens-related corneal infection in which sleeping in lenses was the main risk factor. The consequences included frequent antibiotic drops, many follow-up visits, and, in some cases, permanent eye damage.[3] Those patients wore various lens types, not specifically scleral lenses, but the lesson carries over.

    The midday removal and refill

    Some wearers find their vision gets foggy a few hours into the day. In a study of 120 veterans fitted with scleral lenses, 15.8% reported midday fogging or bubbles.[5] Fogging can come from debris building up in the fluid behind the lens, or from the tear film on the front of it.

    For some people, a planned midday break becomes part of the routine: remove the lens, clean and rinse it as your fitter directs, refill it with fresh preservative-free saline, and reinsert. This isn’t a substitute for getting the cause looked at. Tell your fitter about the fogging so they can check the fit and your tear film, and ask whether a midday refill is right for you. If it is, carry what you need. See the emergency kit.

    Building up, day by day

    • Start where your fitter tells you, even if you feel you could do more.
    • Add time at their pace. Write down your hours and anything you notice.
    • Stop early if your eye becomes red, sore, or blurry, and call your fitter if it doesn’t settle once the lens is out.
    • Keep glasses with a current prescription. The FDA recommends always having a backup pair.[1]

    The first fortnight has its own rhythm: see your first two weeks.

    Common mistakes

    • Using comfort as your guide to how long to wear the lenses.
    • Adding hours faster than your fitter allowed.
    • Napping in your lenses because it's only a few minutes.
    • Skipping follow-up visits once things feel fine.
    • Pushing through blur, redness, or pain to reach a target number of hours.

    Common questions

    How many hours a day can I wear scleral lenses?

    That depends on your eyes, your condition, and your lens, so it's your fitter's call. In one year-long study, new wearers averaged 9.8 hours a day at one month and 11.1 hours at twelve months, but that's a group average, not a target for you.

    Is it OK to nap in scleral lenses?

    No. Take them out before any sleep, even a short nap. The FDA advises against sleeping in daily wear lenses because it may increase your chance of infection or irritation.

    What happens if I fall asleep in them by accident?

    Take them out as soon as you wake up, put your glasses on, and watch your eye. If it's red, painful, blurry, or sensitive to light, contact your eye care professional today. If it feels fine, mention it to your fitter anyway.

    Can I take my lenses out at lunch and put them back in?

    For some people, a planned midday removal, clean, and refill with fresh saline is part of the routine, often to deal with fogging. Ask your fitter whether it suits you and how to do it safely away from home.

    My lenses feel great. Why can't I wear them longer?

    Because comfort isn't a reliable signal. Some effects of wearing a lens too long, like corneal swelling, can be present without discomfort. Your fitter checks for these at your visits.

    Keep going

    Guide

    Blurry right after insertion

    Check for a bubble first: shine a light and look in the mirror. Then make sure the right lens is in the right eye, and look for film, smudges, or specks on the lens. Most of the time, removing the lens, cleaning or rinsing it, refilling to the brim, and reinserting fixes it.

    Guide

    The scleral lens daily routine

    Mornings: wash your hands, inspect and rinse the lenses, fill with preservative-free saline, insert, and empty and air-dry the case. Nights: remove over a towel, rub each side with your cleaner, and store in fresh solution, never topping off. Replace your case every three months.

    Guide

    Your scleral lens emergency kit

    Pack a small zippered pouch with a few single-use saline vials, a spare removal plunger and inserter, a clean case, a small bottle of the disinfecting solution your fitter approves, and your glasses. Keep one wherever you spend long stretches: your bag, your desk, your car. Check the dates every month.

    Guide

    Your first two weeks with scleral lenses

    Expect it to be slow and awkward at first. That's normal. Practice every day at a calm time, follow your fitter's wearing schedule exactly, do the three checks after every insertion, and keep notes for your follow-up. Decide after two to three weeks, not after two to three days.

     Common worry

    Are scleral lenses hard to put in?

    At first, usually yes. It's a learned skill, and the first tries can take a long time. But in a year-long study, most wearers got noticeably faster and needed fewer attempts as the months went on. Give yourself two to three weeks before deciding you can't do it.

    Sources

    1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Everyday Eye Care (contact lenses). Content current as of December 4, 2023. fda.gov
    2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Contact Lens Risks. Content current as of September 4, 2018. fda.gov
    3. Cope JR, Konne NM, Jacobs DS, et al. Corneal infections associated with sleeping in contact lenses: six cases, United States, 2016-2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018;67(32):877-881. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6732a2 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    4. Macedo-de-Araújo RJ, van der Worp E, González-Méijome JM. A one-year prospective study on scleral lens wear success. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2020;43(6):553-561. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2019.10.140 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    5. Kanakamedala A, Salazar H, Campagna G, et al. Outcomes of scleral contact lens use in veteran population. Eye Contact Lens. 2020;46(6):348-352. doi:10.1097/ICL.0000000000000671 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    6. Sticca MP, Carrijo-Carvalho LC, Silva IMB, et al. Acanthamoeba keratitis in patients wearing scleral contact lenses. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2018;41(3):307-310. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2017.12.004 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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