If you have just taken the leap from glasses to contact lenses, you may not be too familiar with how they are supposed to feel. When you first put them in, they may have felt hard and floated around your eyeball. While the initial wearing may have felt strange, additional wear should become easier. In fact, you shouldn't be noticing your contacts at all while they're in. If you feel any discomfort whatsoever—scratching, burning, redness, etc.—then you shouldn't wear them until you figure out the problem.
What are Some Possible Causes and Solutions?
1. Inside-Out Lenses: While contacts look relatively the same either way you hold them, you should only be wearing them one way. And, if you accidentally put them in while they're inside-out, they're bound to be uncomfortable.
There are a couple of things you can do to figure out whether your lenses are inside out. Hold the lens on your finger and look at the profile. You should see a shape with a nice curve—similar to a crescent moon. If the lens is inside-out, the lens-shape will look more like a soup bowl shape. You can also look at the rim of your contacts to see whether they are inside out. There will usually be a slight bluish color on the lens rim of the side that touches your eyes.
2. A Dirty Lens: Dirty lenses are a common reason for eye irritation. If there is any dirt, small hairs, or other debris, they can get trapped or even scratch the lens, making it extremely uncomfortable to wear. If you've been slacking on cleaning, then there's a good chance that it could be the source of your sore eyes. If you live in a place with lots of allergens like pollen, this debris can cause your lenses to become dirty relatively quickly as well.
Don't make the mistake of cleaning your lenses with water. Optometrist Vivian Phan says that newbie contact wearers may not realize how detrimental that can be, since water can cause the lens to warp and stick to your eye. You should always use the contact lens solution you store your contacts in to clean them. First, you'll need to wash your hands and then you can use your fingers to work in the contact solution on your lenses once they're out. After cleaning, you can store them in their case.
3. Patient Factors:
If you have dry eyes (sometimes caused by certain medications), you may not produce enough tears to keep eyes lubricated enough for contacts to be comfortable. An easy solution is to split your wear-time between your glasses and your contacts so that your eyes won't dry out more quickly. Some soft contact brands let oxygen pass through the lense more easily and may feel better on your eyes than hard contacts would. Also, you may want to talk to your optometrist about eye drops. You can apply some before you put in your contacts every day.
Another patient factor you may suffer from is an astigmatism. An astigmatism just means your eyes have an irregular shape that doesn't conform to the contact lenses shape. If you have a cleaning regimen, change your contacts regularly, and have ruled out other problems, you may want to see your optometrist to verify that you have an astigmatism. He or she can fit you with a pair that will feel better on your eyes. For more information, contact a business such as South Jersey Eye Physicians.
Share8 April 2015
Vision problems can be sneaky. When my daughter started having trouble in school, nobody thought that the problem could be with her vision. She wasn't complaining about not being able to see ; she was acting out instead. Plus, she could read the eye chart. It took a lot of trial and error to realize that while she could see, her eyes weren't working together correctly. She needed vision therapy to get herself back on track. I started this blog to share information with other concerned parents about how vision affects learning. Don't let a vision problem sneak by you and impact your child's education.
