Rapid Eye Blinking Caused by Contact Lenses

A dead giveaway that someone is wearing contact lenses is their rapid eye-blinking. The lenses may not be visible to your eye but you know of their existence due to the incessant blinking. This can be caused by dry eyes combined with the presence of the contact lenses and can be a response to a build-up of debris on the lenses.

Considerations

• The number of times a person blinks per minute varies significantly from one person to another. On average, a person blinks 10 to 30 times a minute, according to Revolutionhealth.com. Some blink as few as three times per minute while others blink as much as 48 times per minute. This is called spontaneous blink rate or SEBR. Babies don't blink much at all. According to Dr. John Stern, professor emeritus of psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, people blink more when they are apprehensive. According to Bezalel Schendowich, O.D. of the National Keratoconous Foundation, the best kind of blinking occurs when the eye fully or completely closes on each blink. The normal frequency without contacts according to Dr. Schendowich is 7 to 10 blinks per minute. Interestingly, rabbits only blink once every seven minutes. According to the Clinician's Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment of Dry Eye Disease by Penny A. Asbell and Michael A. Lemp, contact wearers can have inhibited and non-efficient blinking. When wearing contacts, the nature of the blink changes.

Prevention

• Make sure that your contact lenses are clean and moist so that they won't cause eye dryness. Dr. Frederick Long suggests using lens solutions that don't contain preservatives as a wetting agent. Dr. Mitchell H. Friedlaender, director of corneal services in the Division of Ophthalmology at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California, and coauthor of 20/20: A Total Guide to Improving Your Vision and Preventing Eye Disease, recommends that you not put in your contact lenses until an hour after getting up. It's imperative to let your eyes breathe upon wakening.

Options

• Consider buying gas permeable lenses that allow oxygen to reach the eye. Rigid lenses can irritate and suffocate the eye. Another option, which may reduce blinking, is a disposable lens. Dr. Eleanor Faye, an opthalmologic surgeon at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, explains that you wear these lenses around the clock for an entire week and then you throw them away after which you put in a new, fresh pair. Dr. Faye says that this eliminates the protein build-up that can occur on standard soft lenses. However, do not try to clean these lenses and reinsert them.

Idea

• Before going to bed, put antihistamine or decongestant eye drops in your eyes. Your lenses should be removed before doing this. Dr. Faye explains that this will reduce swelling and itching and help control the sensitivity issues that are related to wearing contact lenses and that cause irritation and excess blinking.

Not Enough Blinking

• If you are not blinking completely while wearing contact lenses, this can result in symptoms and signs of lid wiper epitheliopathy, according to Contactlensjournal.com. Incomplete blinking can accelerate the drying of the surface of the lens as well as precipitate lens surface deposits. Blinking too much is not good whereas not blinking enough is harmful.