Contacts & Dry Eye Syndrome

In dry eye syndrome, the eyes produce an inadequate amount of tears, or the chemical composition of the tears makes them evaporate unusually quickly. Millions of Americans have this syndrome, which can be uncomfortable much of the time or mainly create problems during reading, computer work or driving. Contact lenses can cause or aggravate this problem.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of dry eye syndrome include eye irritation, itchiness, burning, pain, gritty or sandy feeling, light sensitivity or blurred vision.

Significance

• Contact lens wearers complain about dry eyes more than any other lens problem. Sometimes the lenses are causing dry eyes, and sometimes they make an already existing condition worse. Especially as people get older, dry eye syndrome can make wearing contact lenses too uncomfortable to wear no matter what.

Effects

• Contact lenses create subtle but continuous irritation to the front tissue of the eyes. Dry eyes make this worse, and it can become an unpleasant cycle.

Considerations

• Some soft contact lenses contain up to 70 percent water, which evaporates during wearing time. The contact lens then absorbs water from tears, which leads to this problem.

RGP Contacts

• Rigid gas permeable lenses sometimes work better than soft lenses because they do not dry out or absorb tears.

Soft Contacts

• Silicon hydrogel soft lenses contain less water than the traditional soft lenses, so those also may feel more comfortable.

Other Solutions

• People with dry eyes may need to apply rewetting drops several times a day or wear the contacts for fewer hours.