Many of us like to opt for contact lenses over glasses. We all have our own reasons for it – aesthetics, practicality, and suchlike. But whatever those reasons may be, most of us, at some point, have felt a little uncomfortable wearing our lenses.
Of course, a lot of the time, this is just early adjustment – our eyes getting used to having something new and foreign in them – and it’s just a matter of waiting to adapt. But for some of us, the discomfort can linger for a bit too long, or even flair up after we thought we’d gotten used to it. Any sort of discomfort is a nuisance, but when it’s caused by something you have to wear every day, it can drive you mad.
So for those of you who have started feeling a bit more discomfort than is normal from your contact lenses, and aren’t quite ready to return to glasses just yet, here are a few tips on how to make your contacts a little bit easier to wear.
Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, you’ll want to ensure that the contacts are in properly. This sounds like an obvious one; but for newcomers to contact-wearing, it can be something easy to miss.
Take out your contact, hold it on your fingertip, and check how it’s shaped. If the edges are curved in any way, it’s likely that you’ve been wearing it the wrong way around.
Oh, and while you’re at it, give them another clean. And the case, as well. The slightest speck of dust can cause some serious stinging.
If it’s not that, it could simply be that the lenses are too old (they should have come with an expiry date you can check), or else you’ve been wearing them a bit too long. See, if you’re new to wearing contacts, wearing them for too long can cause irritation, as your eyes haven’t yet fully adjusted. Try pacing yourself a bit more in the first few days – a few hours per day in the first week or so.
It’s also possible that your eyes are simply dry, perhaps even for reasons unrelated to the lens. If so, there’s a few steps you can take. For one, you can avoid the usual causes of dry eyes – if you smoke, make an effort to cut down; and if you’re an outdoorsy sort, consider wearing eye protection when going out on windy days to avoid things getting in your eyes.
There’s also the medical approach – many who suffer from dry eyes use artificial tears. However, if you’re considering this, make sure you only use the ones recommended by your eye doctor. Using over-the-counter tears that aren’t compatible with your lenses can discolor or ruin them.
Of course, if the discomfort gets very severe, do consider visiting your eye doctor. But first, do spend a while following these tips – odds are the fix for the discomfort is a simple one.
If you have questions or if you are in need buy contact lenses in the Centralia and Olympia area, give us a call today at (360) 736-7385