Shake it Baby

If you feel any pain from wearing your contact lenses there is something seriously wrong. Contacts shouldn’t be felt at all, there shouldn’t even be the slightest feeling that there is something in or on the eye.

What’s Causes the Pain?

If you’re once comfortable contact lenses suddenly become noticeable, whether it’s the feeling that there’s pressure on the eye, sharp gritty feeling or a localised pain, then the reason is generally dirt. Sometimes debris can become lodged between the inside surface of your contact lens and the surface of your eye.

If this is the case then finding relief is simple. Because it’s always best to avoid touching your contacts, you can first of all try adding a few drops of your lens solution or lubricant to your eye. Hopefully this on its own will be enough to rinse the debris away. If it’s not, then remove the lens and take a closer look. You might find protein deposits accumulating on the lens surface. If that’s the case, it’s time to pay more attention to your cleaning routine. If you’re experiencing pain with disposable lenses then you’ll probably want to have them replaced.

Always take that uncomfortable feeling as a warning sign. If you allow protein deposits to build up it can become a much more serious problem.

A Tear in Your Contact Lens?

If you have carried out the above advice and still found that wearing your contacts is uncomfortable then it may be that they have developed a tear. Remove the lens, place it on your fingertip and hold it up towards a light source. Look around the edges for what appears to be a tiny fibre. If one is found, investigate further. It could just be something sitting on the surface of the lens however if it doesn’t come away then it’s probably a tear. There’s nothing you can do about that.

What Else Might be Wrong?

Other reasons contact lenses can become uncomfortable include wearing the wrong prescription, a problem with dry eyes, allergies or other medical problems including eyes that aren’t healthy and eye strain. Talk to your optometrist about your problems, they may want to have your eyes tested so that proper corrective measures can be put into place.

That might include a new, properly-fitting contact lens prescription or possibly a different brand of contact lens, one that allows more oxygen to flow to the cornea. The optometrist might recommend using lubricants and/or artificial tear drops when dry eyes are causing the uncomfortable feelings. You might even be given other medical treatments depending on what the problem is. It might surprise you to find out that hormonal and thyroid problems can interfere with the wearing of contacts.

Posted by April / Health