overwear syndrome
[o″ver-wār] extreme photophobia, pain, and lacrimation associated with contact lenses, particularly non–gas permeable hard lenses, usually caused by wearing them excessively. Prolonged lens-induced corneal hypoxia results in corneal epithelial edema and eventually erosion; it can be a chronic condition or an acute episode that usually occurs several hours after lenses are removed.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.