Chronic Dry Eyes

My OLD Comfortable Contacts

When I first moved to Cyprus I used what I thought were the most comfortable contact lenses called Acuvue Hydraclear, as they had a high water content built into the lens which naturally lubricates the lens when in the eye.

But sometimes, they felt really itchy and I started to think that I must have chronic dry eyes!

Sometimes, it was at the end of the day when I know I had worn the lenses for too long. But there were also certain times of year when my eyes just itched like crazy and felt super dry.

Itchy Chronic Dry Eyes

Summer time is when I seemed to get the most chronic dry eyes. Living in a warm country like Cyprus meant my eyes were having to cope with extremes of temperature and also high levels of humidity.

When it gets hot AND humid, that's when my eyes started to itch the most. It fely like there was constant grit in my eyes...

...and it also felt like my eyes were producing far more tears than normal. I now know that is just the body reacting to the difference in temperature and humidity levels which causes the eyes to produce more natural lubrication. Unfortunately, those tears however, also contain salts and that's partly what causes the extreme itchiness.

Relief for Dry Eyes

So how do you get relief from those chronic dry eyes? Here's what I now do after years of experience:

• I switched to wearing a DAILY disposable contact lens called Acuvue Moist. I occasionally used these for watersports and cycling even though they were more expensive than my bi-monthly Hydraclear lenses. But they are now far cheaper as they have become the most popular value for money daily disposable contact lens on the market - Just $58.99 per box of 90 lenses - Great VALUE

• If you wear bi-monthly or even monthly lenses, instead of just popping the lenses in the case every night, I suggest you clean them by rubbing the lens lightly between your fingers before leaving them to soak. This removes any excess deposits from your tears on the lens and should help with any chronic dry eyes.

• Or you could alternate your contacts with prescription sunglasses during the day to give your eyes a rest from the lenses if eyes get especially dry.

• If I'm cycling in high temperatures or doing watersports (it's often easy to lose a lens when waterskiing, especially when you fall in!), I always carry a spare daily disposable lens, my trusty Acuvue Moist which I can quickly switch if I get water or grit in the eye.

• If my eyes ever get really itchy, I use eye drops to alleviate any scratchy feeling and if they are very bad, I even leave the lenses out for a few days to give my eyes a complete rest.

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