Dry eye does not automatically mean you have to stop wearing contact lenses. Many people can continue wearing contacts comfortably, but they may need a different lens, better wearing habits, dry eye treatment, or a combination of these approaches.
If your eyes become dry, gritty, red, or blurry the first step is determining why. A comprehensive eye exam can help identify whether the problem is related to your contact lenses, tear film, eyelid glands, environment, or another condition affecting the surface of your eyes.
Why Can Contact Lenses Make Dry Eye Symptoms Worse?
A healthy tear film keeps the surface of your eyes smooth, comfortable, and protected. Because a contact lens rests within that tear film, it can affect how moisture spreads across the eye and how quickly tears evaporate.
Several factors can contribute to contact lens discomfort:
- Reduced blinking while using computers, phones, and other digital devices
- Long contact lens wear times
- Dry air, wind, fans, heating, and air conditioning
- Buildup on reusable lenses
- A lens material, design, or fit that does not work well for your eyes
- Meibomian gland dysfunction, which affects the protective oil layer of your tears
- Allergies, medications, or other conditions that contribute to dry eye
Sometimes the contact lens is the primary problem. In other cases, it simply makes an existing tear-film issue more noticeable.
Signs Your Contacts Might Be Part of the Problem
Contact lens discomfort can look different from person to person, but common signs include:
- Burning or scratchiness that shows up hours into wearing your lenses
- Blurry vision that clears up for a moment after you blink a few times
- Redness that gets worse the longer your lenses stay in
- Reaching for rewetting drops more than once or twice a day
- Feeling noticeably better the second you take your lenses out
If any of that sounds familiar, it doesn’t mean contacts are off the table. It means it’s worth figuring out what’s going on before you write them off.
What Can Help
There is no single solution for every patient. The right approach depends on what is causing your symptoms and how your eyes respond to contact lens wear. Options your doctor may consider include:
- Reevaluating Your Contact Lenses: Changing the lens material, design, replacement schedule, or fit may improve comfort. Daily disposable contacts can be helpful for some patients because a fresh pair is used each day, reducing deposits and eliminating the need for cleaning solutions. However, no single lens type is best for everyone.
- Using Contact-Lens-Compatible Drops: Lubricating or rewetting drops may provide temporary relief, but not every eye drop can be used while contacts are in your eyes. Choose a product specifically labeled for use with contact lenses
- Giving Your Eyes Regular Breaks: Avoid wearing contacts longer than recommended. Taking them out earlier, alternating with glasses, and giving your eyes occasional contact-free time may reduce irritation.
- Improve Screen Habits: People often blink less completely while concentrating on a screen, allowing tears to evaporate more quickly. Take regular breaks, blink intentionally, and position fans or vents so that air is not blowing directly toward your eyes.
- Treat the Underlying Dry Eye: If the problem is not limited to the contact lenses, your doctor may recommend treatments such as warm compresses, eyelid hygiene, artificial tears, prescription eye drops, punctal plugs, or other therapies based on the cause and severity of your dry eye.
- Considering Specialty Contact Lenses
For some patients with moderate to severe dry eye or difficult-to-fit corneas, scleral lenses may be an option. These larger rigid lenses vault over the cornea and hold a fluid reservoir between the lens and the eye. They require a specialized fitting and are not necessary for most people with mild contact lens discomfort.
The Right Solution Starts With an Eye Exam
Remove your lenses and contact an eye care professional if you develop significant pain, pronounced redness, light sensitivity, discharge, swelling, or a sudden change in vision. Contact lens wearers can develop infections and other complications that should not be mistaken for routine dryness. Do not continue wearing an uncomfortable lens in hopes that the irritation will pass.
During a comprehensive eye exam and contact lens evaluation, your doctor can examine the surface of your eyes, assess your tear film and eyelid glands, and evaluate how your lenses fit. From there, treatment can be tailored to the actual cause of your symptoms instead of relying on trial and error.
Our doctors treat dry eye across Utah County and Central Utah, and can help you figure out whether the fix is a different lens, a change in your day to day habits, or a treatment like LipiFlow or punctal plugs. During a comprehensive eye exam and contact lens evaluation, your doctor can examine the surface of your eyes, assess your tear film and eyelid glands, and evaluate how your lenses fit. From there, treatment can be tailored to the actual cause of your symptoms instead of relying on trial and error. We also fit and supply contact lenses for nearly every prescription, including specialty lenses for dry eye and other hard-to-fit cases.
Ready to see what’s going on with your eyes? Let’s find a plan that works with your contacts instead of against them. Schedule an appointment at a location near you.
