Many people prefer contact lenses over glasses. They don’t alter your appearance and they offer a more natural field of vision. They can also be a convenient option if you lead an active lifestyle and don’t want to worry about your glasses falling off, such as during a workout.
However, some people may experience dry eyes, eye irritation, or even blurry vision related to contact lens wear. Contact lens related discomfort is only a problem when wearing contact lenses and resolves shortly after stopping contact lens wear. What is the cause of these problems? There are a few potential factors.
Poor Fitting Contact Lenses
If contact lenses seem to trigger dry, itchy, or irritated eyes, you may simply be using poorly fit contact lenses. If you’ve noticed any irritation while wearing contacts, talk to your doctor about finding a better fitting set of contact lenses to resolve the issue. Poorly fit contact lenses can even cause fluctuation in vision. If you experience blurry vision with contacts but not glasses, this could be a potential explanation but you should certainly see your eye doctor to get to the root of the problem.
In a similar vein, some patients find that their eyes feel irritated when wearing a certain kind of contact. For example, some people find soft contact lenses more comfortable than rigid contact lenses. CLEI’s team of ophthalmologists and optometrists would be happy to discuss all of the options with you, even custom contact lenses when warranted, to help you enjoy the best possible vision without sacrificing comfort.
Could it Be an Eye Infection?
If your eyes look red and irritated during and after wearing contacts, you might be worried about infection. The good news is contact lens related infections are extremely rare. However, when they do happen, the cause is usually related to matters of hygiene. For example, using contact lenses past their replacement dates, not storing or cleaning them properly, exposing your lenses to water (especially swimming in your contact lenses), or sleeping in contact lenses can all lead to eye irritation and even severe, sight-threatening infections. If you’ve fallen into one of these bad habits, you should definitely head to your eye doctor for an examination and treatment. Generally, eye infections cause pain, sensitivity to light, tearing, and occasionally lid swelling as well. If you think you have an infection you should contact your doctor immediately.
Other Possible Causes of Eye Irritation from Contacts
Besides a poor fit or an eye infection, there are still other potential reasons you could be experiencing discomfort when you wear contacts. A pre-existing dry eye condition or the development of ocular allergies can affect contact lens comfort. Again, having a visit with your eye doctor to find and treat the underlying condition can help.
How to Soothe Irritated Eyes from Contacts
If you’ve been struggling with irritated or dry eyes, or allergies with contacts, the following tips may help:
- Try new lenses. Head to your eye doctor to get evaluated for a different kind or a better fitting set of lenses. In many cases, this simple solution can alleviate discomfort.
- Wash your hands. Always wash your hands before putting your contacts in or taking them out. This helps prevent any debris, bacteria, or other eye-irritating materials from getting on your contacts and into your eyes.
- Clean your contacts thoroughly. Clean your contacts with fresh solution every day. Never clear your lenses with sink or bath water. Skipping this step or reusing contact lens solution can easily lead to eye irritation and potentially infections.
- Use lubricating eye drops. Preservative free artificial tears can help to temporarily alleviate dry eye symptoms, but it’s still critical you talk to your optometrist about using them to make sure you won’t make an underlying problem worse.
- Take them out. If contacts are irritating your eyes, the best option is to remove them and rest your eyes. Use a pair of glasses until you can get a thorough examination from your eye doctor. Patients who wear their contact lenses despite irritation are generally the ones who experience worse complications. Having a pair of updated glasses available to you should you be experiencing issues with your lenses is critical. Keep the amount of time you wear your contact lenses reasonable. Twelve hours is the general rule for the length of contact lens wear daily. Overwear can lead to contact lens related discomfort and eye health issues.
Is there Something Other than Contacts?
The majority of contact lenses are worn to provide glasses free vision correction but they are not the only option. If contact lenses are causing you discomfort and frustration you should consider alternative options for vision correction.
Refractive Surgery
Refractive surgery, like LASIK, is a safe and permanent way to be glasses and contact lens free. It eliminates the need for you to wear, store, clean, and periodically replace contact lenses too, which many of our patients appreciate. You don’t have to worry about swimming or falling asleep in your contacts and the risk of infection is lower with refractive surgery than contact lens wear as well. Patients are also more satisfied with LASIK than contact lenses. In addition, the one-time cost of refractive surgery is generally lower than the cost of purchasing contacts or glasses over the course of a lifetime. With so many benefits, it’s no wonder many patients choose refractive surgery over contacts or glasses for clear vision.
Non-Surgical Options
Another potential option is orthokeratology (ortho-k). Ortho-k involves using a special contact lens retainer at night only. (Yes, there are contact lenses you can sleep in!) Ortho-k lenses gently reshape your eye while you sleep to temporarily correct your vision and allow you to be glasses and contact lens free during the day. It’s a reversable, non-surgical option that can potentially offer relief from discomfort related to contact lens wear.
Conclusion
If you’ve been experiencing discomfort or irritation with contact lenses, we can help. There are a multitude of underlying factors we may be able to address and even alternatives to using contact lenses for clear vision. The first step towards resolution is to schedule an appointment with CLEI’s team of expert optometrists and ophthalmologists. We have experts in both contact lens fitting and refractive surgery so you can be assured that all vision correction options will be discussed with you. We believe that clear, comfortable vision is the key to a better quality of life.
