How To Deal With Dry Eye Connected If You Wear Contact Lenses

By Author: Monica Quinn
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A dry eye is a condition when your eyes do not produce enough high-quality tears to keep them lubricated and pleasant. There are two forms of dry eyes.
- Aqueous tear-deficient dry eye occurs when the lacrimal glands do not generate enough tears to keep the eye wet;
- Evaporative dry eye is caused by the meibomian glands producing poor-quality tears. Usually, this signifies that there isn't enough lipid layer in your tears, causing them to evaporate too rapidly and leave your eye dry.

Symptoms Of Dry Eye
In addition to feeling uncomfortable while wearing contact lenses, you may suffer additional dry eye symptoms afterward. Some of these symptoms might include:
- Stinging, burning, or itching;
- Eye redness;
- A sandy or grainy sensation in your eye;
- Abnormal discharge;
- Watery eyes;
- Blurred vision;
- Eye tiredness or strain
- Sensitivity to light.

How Do Contacts Affect Dry Eyes?
Wearing contact lenses might cause your eyes to dry out because the thin coating of lens material on your cornea restricts oxygen passage to the eyes. Without ...
... a consistent supply of oxygen, your eyes struggle to produce natural tears.

Additional reasons why contacts cause dry eyes include:
- Overwearing or wearing incorrect prescriptions;
- Your contacts are not the right fit.

To reduce your chance of acquiring dry eye from contacts, have a proper contact lens inspection before wearing them.

Tips to Manage Dry Eye While Wearing Contacts
Even if you wear contact lenses, typical dry eye therapies like artificial tears will help treat your dry eye.

The four most frequent strategies to control dry eye when using contacts revolve around:
- What sort of contact lenses do you wear;
- The contact solution you use;
- Whether you are looking after your lenses correctly;
- Your lifestyle choices.

Type of Contact Lens
Contact lenses can prevent your eyes from receiving adequate oxygen, resulting in dryness. If you have contact-related dry eye, your dry eye doctor may prescribe any of the following types of contact lenses:
- Silicone hydrogel contact lenses enable up to five times more oxygen into the eye than other forms of contact lenses. As a consequence, they may be worn longer while minimizing eye dryness;
- Contact lenses with low water content allow more oxygen to enter the eye and pull liquid into the tear film, alleviating dry eye symptoms;
- Daily disposable contact lenses protect your eyes from the consequences of overwear;
- Scleral lenses cover the whole corneal surface, keeping the eyes' front surface from drying out;
- Orthokeratology lenses are gas-permeable contact lenses used overnight. They reshape the cornea as you sleep, eliminating the need for daily contact lenses. This alleviates contact lens-induced dry eye problems.

Contact Solutions
Dry eye is not always caused by contact lenses; it can also be caused by the cleaning solution you use. Some remedies may irritate or dry up your eyes.

If you suspect the problem is with your contact solution, you should:
- Consult your eye doctor for any advice;
- Try out many brands until you discover one that works for you.

Care for Your Contact Lenses
Maintaining a good contact lens cleaning practice can have a big influence on your eye health. If you are using the incorrect solution or are not properly cleaning your contacts, you may be experiencing dry eye.

To prevent hygiene-related dry eye problems, make sure you are:
- Dispose of your contact lenses correctly based on what your eye doctor says;
- Change your contact lens case every few weeks to avoid bacterial buildup;
- Wearing contact lenses when sick with a cold or flu, or while suffering from an eye infection increases the risk of introducing germs into the eyes;
- Remove contact lenses if you have an eye infection, such as pink eye.

Lifestyle Choices
In addition to keeping a healthy weight and eating healthy food, there are certain vitamins that can help you have better vision and eyesight. The greatest eye vitamins and supplements are:
- Lutein;
- Zeaxanthin;
- Vitamin A;
- Vitamin C;
- Omega-3.

The bottom line
Beyond dry eyes and contact lenses, it is critical to maintain good eye health. To keep your eyes healthy and your vision clear, you should ensure contact lenses are properly fitted by an eye doctor and schedule regular eye exams. If you have symptoms, avoid using contact lenses for a lengthy period of time.

Greetings, my name is Monica. I graduated from New York Medical College and work as a nurse in Queens Hospital at the moment. The thing I love the most is morning jogging, because it is a wonderful way to keep myself in tonus. I like to communicate with people who care about their health. I became a vegetarian five years ago. Now my daily menu consists mainly of vegetables, fruits and different cheeses. I am a member of water polo team and I love gardening. I like to see how huge flowers grow out of the tiny petal, it dazzles me because I love spending my time outdoors. My goal is to visit all the USA parks, and then all over the world)