Contact Lenses and Dry Eyes

Do you suffer from contact lenses and dry eyes syndrome?

Over the years, I've had plenty of experience with dry itchy eyes.

First it was due to wearing hard gas permeable lenses in an air-conditioned office. Then I moved to Cyprus and experienced sore eyes during the hot dry summers.

If you've suffered the same thing then you know exactly how irritating it is to feel like there's a foreign body (ok the lens!) scratching your eyeball.

I remember taking my lenses out so many times on some days just to add additional lens solution to ease the itchiness. But once those eyes had dried out, the only relief was often to simply take the contacts out and put on a pair of glasses instead.

That's ok of course in an office environment but not for anyone doing an active job or those playing sports either professionally or just for leisure.

Comfortable Contact Lenses and Dry Eyes

When I first started wearing lenses over 25 years ago, I had gas permeable lenses - a small rigid lens that just fits over the iris. They take a bit of getting used to, building up gradually for an hour longer each day.

So whenever my eyes were dry, I just assumed my eyes were tired and took the lenses out. It was the Air Con in a later office job that convinced me to try soft lenses instead and boy what a difference.

Acuvue Moist Daily Disposables
$56.99 per box of 90 lenses

I had always avoided soft lenses before as they were a real pain to keep clean, but with technological advances, soft lenses had become disposable so I started with monthly disposables and later switched to 2-weekly disposable comfortable contacts.

I wore the 2-weekly disposables for a few years, but then I found my eyes were STILL getting dry. So I tried daily disposable soft contact lenses which were a revelation as they were SO comfortable. And no cleaning or disinfecting required! Just get a new pair every day.

Acuvue Moist Daily Disposables are, as the name suggests, moisture-rich and that means they are super comfortable to wear. So much so that they are now my daily contact lens of choice and prices have come down over the last few years as they are one of the most popular lenses on the market today.

Eye Drops for Dry Eyes

If moisture-rich lenses like the ones I wear are not enough, an additional dry eyes solution is to use eye drops. But for contact lenses and dry eyes sufferers, it's important that you check the label before putting any eye drops into the eye in case the liquid is not compatible with your own contact lens solution.

My local pharmacist recommended Thera Tears, lubricant eye drops that replicate human tears. Great for people with contact lenses and dry eyes and preservative-free so no risk of eye itchiness.

The drops contain a unique lubricant that creates a liquid "cushion" all day long; they provide immediate relief for anyone stuck in an air conditioned office all day or those working outside in a hot dusty environment.

I hope my suggestions above help if you wear contact lenses and dry eyes are a frequent problem.

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