Dry eyes: Are your contact lenses to blame?

Introduction

Contact lenses have revolutionized the way people see the world. They are a great alternative to eyeglasses, and they offer wearers a number of advantages, including convenience, comfort, and improvement in overall lifestyle. However, contact lenses do have one significant downside: they can cause dry eyes. In this article, we will explore what causes the dryness and what you can do to prevent dryness and improve your contact lens wearing experience.

Our Tears

The tear film is a thin layer of fluid that coats the surface of the eye. The tear film is responsible for keeping the eyes moist and clear, and it also helps to protect the eyes from infection. The tear film consists of three layers: the lipid or oily layer, the aqueous layer, and the mucous layer. The lipid layer helps to keep the tears from evaporating too quickly, while the aqueous layer contains proteins and minerals that help to nourish and protect the eye. The mucous layer helps to trap bacteria and other debris, and it also helps to stabilize the tear film.

The tear film is created by different glands around our eyes to keep our eyes hydrated and healthy. When you are sad, in pain or happy, it may cause the glands to be overstimulated causing over production of tears which is what we see when people cry. The lack of any of these layers will result in dry eyes.

Causes of Dry Eyes

Dry eyes can be caused by a variety of factors, including age, environment, medications, and health conditions. Dry eye syndrome is a common problem that occurs when the tear film that coats the surface of the eye is not replenished as quickly as it evaporates. This can lead to a number of symptoms, including irritation, redness, blurred vision, and a feeling of something being in the eye.

On top of the above-mentioned causes, dry eyes can occur when wearing contact lenses due to long hours of wear, insufficient tears production and unsuitable contact lenses. Symptoms of dry eyes typically occurs with majority of soft contact lens wearers due to the lens requiring your tears to stay hydrated.

How do I know if my lenses are causing dry eyes?

One of the easiest ways to tell if your contact lenses are causing dry eyes is when you notice these signs and symptoms:

• Itchiness
• Redness
• Mucus discharge around eyes
• Stinging sensation
• Foreign body sensation
• Blur vision that clears after a blink
• Feeling that the lenses are hugging onto your eyes
• Tearing of your eyes

Above are some of the signs and symptoms of dry eyes that you can monitor when wearing contact lenses. We advise that you follow your eye care professional’s prescribed wearing schedule to have a more comfortable and healthy contact lens wear. AVOID buying contact lenses without a prescription or from an unknown source. Contact lenses are considered a medical device and can be dangerous to your eye health if not prescribed properly.

Treatment of dry eyes

There are many options for eye lubricants and ointments in the market. However, getting the right one to manage the symptoms of dry eyes will require an assessment of your eyes. Depending on the type of dry eyes, your eye care professional may prescribe different drops to help manage the dry eyes.

Other treatment can range from tear plugs, warm compressions and also impulse light therapy.

Prevention of dry eyes

Dry eyes are a common problem, especially for people who wear contact lenses. Symptoms include burning, stinging, and a feeling of dryness in the eyes. Contact lenses can make dry eyes worse because they create a very dry environment.

There are several things you can do to help relieve the symptoms of dry eyes:

1. Use artificial tears to lubricate your eyes.
2. Drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated.
3. Avoid smoking, which can irritate your eyes.
4. Avoid excessive use of computers and other electronic devices, which can also cause eye fatigue and irritation.
5. Close your eyes for a few minutes every hour to give them a break from the glare of screens.
6. Place a humidifier in your home or office to add moisture to the air.

Conclusion

If you are constantly struggling with dryness when wearing your contact lenses, it is recommended to have a contact lens assessment done. An ill-fitting contact lenses can cause problems for your eyes in the future and in worse case scenarios, it may cause corneal ulcers, inflammations and/or infections. A full assessment of the health of your eyes as well as the fitting of the lenses may alleviate most symptoms.