Have you go dry eyes? Well, if so, you probably wear contact lenses. If you’re wondering how we knew, it’s because contact lens wear is one of the biggest reasons a third of UK adults experience dry eye syndrome. So much so, in fact, that 89% of British optometrists ask if you use contacts before confirming that you have dry eyes.
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Though dryness sounds minor, it’s definitely something you need to be worried about. Meabh McHugh-Hill had to learn that the hard way. She’s worn contacts since she was 16, but she would keep them in for up to 12 hours at a time. For her, eye dryness was normal—until one night, when she discovered that one of her lenses had welded itself to her eye. She ended up removing an entire layer of her eye along with the contact lens!
Fortunately, you can avoid dry eyes with contact lenses yourself by taking on a few simple yet crucial habits. But first, you may want to know:
Why Do Contacts Dry Your Eyes Out?
The answer is relatively simple: contacts sit directly on your eye, meaning they cover part of your cornea. That hinders how much oxygen flows into the eyes. Since oxygen is crucial for helping your eyes produce tears, contact lenses essentially reduce the amount of natural lubrication they receive. Soft contact lenses also absorb those tears, so you’re more likely to have dry eyes if you wear them instead of rigid contact lenses.
How Can You Prevent Dry Eyes With Contacts?
Use Dedicated Dry Eye Lenses
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One of the first and most impactful steps you can take involves carefully choosing what kind of contacts to wear. The best contact lenses for dry eyes should allow oxygen to pass through (also known as “oxygen permeability”) and be capable of retaining moisture. To this end, Lenstore offers a number of contact lenses you can try, including the ACUVUE OASYS MAX 1-Day, Total30 monthlies, Air Optix plus HydraGlyde for Astigmatism, and Bausch + Lomb Ultra for Presbyopia. Aside from being oxygen-permeable, the contact lenses from these brands are made from water gradient materials, use patented technologies to stabilise your tear film, and come with a high water content to give your eyes additional moisture.
Lubricate Often With Artificial Tears
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To relieve dryness from long hours of contact lens wear and device use, consider regularly applying artificial tears for dry eyes—especially the kind that contains 0.2% sodium hyaluronate. This is a kind of hyaluronic acid, the same compound that the skincare-obsessed always look for in their moisturisers, and it can deliver similar benefits when used in artificial tears. The Eye Doctor’s Triple Action Eye Drops can be especially effective because of their oil-based formula, which helps them lock moisture in for longer. Just remember that sodium hyaluronate can blur the vision upon application, so wait for things to clear up before going about activities like driving.
Remove Your Contacts At Night
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The only thing that stops contacts from completely blocking oxygen is the fact that you blink, which temporarily displaces them and allows that oxygen to pass through. You can’t do the same while you’re sleeping, making it vital to always remove your contacts before bed. And if you think the occasional lapse will only result in you getting drier-feeling eyes when you wake up, think again. Oxygen is equally crucial for helping them fight infections, meaning you’ll be facing an additional risk of infections—something actress Tori Spelling brought attention to when she developed a corneal ulcer after sleeping in contacts herself. Ultimately, the added convenience of keeping your lenses in just isn’t worth the risk.
