Contact lenses are one of the most popular methods of vision correction, but wearing lenses incompatible with your ocular health can lead to irritation.
Many individuals suffer from dry eyes. Improper contact lens wear, care, and use can aggravate those symptoms.
The key for contact lens wearers is finding a lens compatible with your level of dryness. Fortunately, there are a variety of soft contact lenses available that provide ongoing hydration and comfort for dry eye suffers:
- Acuvue Oasys with Hydraluxe Technology
- Acuvue Oasys Max 1-Day
- Alcon Dailies Total1
- Bausch + Lomb Ultra One Day
All About Dry Eyes
One of the more common chronic eye conditions affecting Canadians is dry eye disease. This condition is marked by a gritty, dry sensation on the eye’s surface that may cause individuals to rub their eyes throughout the day, thereby putting their ocular health at risk.
Dry eye occurs when tears can’t provide adequate moisture to the eye’s surface. Typically, this is caused by reduced tear production or increased tear evaporation as the result of an unbalanced tear film.
While dryness of the eye’s surface is a hallmark sign of dry eye, other common symptoms include:
- Red eyes
- Watery eyes
- Blurry vision
- Light sensitivity
- Tingly or burning sensation
- A foreign body sensation in the eye
Anyone can develop dry eye, but certain factors can increase the risk of developing this condition:
- Age (tear production decreases as we age)
- Environmental conditions ( dry, windy, smokey, or air-conditioned spaces).
- Certain medical conditions like diabetes or thyroid conditions and dryness can develop as a side effect of certain medications.
- Lifestyle factors like prolonged exposure to digital screens and not thoroughly removing eye makeup.
- Improper contact lens wear and care.
Dry eye alone isn’t considered a serious eye condition, but it can cause ongoing discomfort and irritation, which naturally affects quality of life. The real problems arise when persistent dryness remains unmanaged.
Leaving dry eyes unmanaged can lead to a host of complications, severely impacting vision and ocular health. To prevent such developments, managing dry eyes is key.
While particular causes of dry eye can be addressed and resolved, the condition is often chronic, in which case it has no easy cure. Instead, the condition can be effectively managed. Ongoing management and prevention include lifestyle changes that mitigate potential triggers that can exacerbate dryness.
How Contact Lenses Aggravate Dry Eyes
Comfortably wearing contact lenses can be challenging for those experiencing chronic dry eye, as improper contact lens wear and care or simply wearing unsuitable lenses can exacerbate symptoms.
Contacts aggravate dryness in several ways:
- Contacts rest directly on the cornea, creating a barrier that restricts the flow of oxygen to the eye’s surface, preventing the natural tear film from stabilizing.
- A contact lens can absorb tear moisture, further drying the eye’s surface. When the eye’s surface becomes severely dry, lenses can even stick to the cornea.
- Contacts trap heat and moisture against the eye, increasing tear evaporation. This becomes especially pronounced when lens materials are less breathable, further limiting oxygen delivery to the cornea.
- The barrier created by contact lenses restricts the natural spread of tears when you blink, reducing lubrication on the eye’s surface.
- When contacts are worn around environmental triggers that can exacerbate dryness, like dry or windy climates or prolonged screen exposure, this can further cause the lens to absorb moisture from tears already in short supply.
Despite the various ways contacts can exacerbate dryness, having dry eyes doesn’t mean giving up on contacts altogether is necessary.
Top Contact Lenses for Dry Eyes
Advances in contact lens technology have led to the development of lenses suitable for dry eye sufferers. The key is finding the contact lens type compatible with your specific visual and ocular needs.
Let’s explore some popular options for dry eye sufferers.
Acuvue Oasys with HydraLuxe Technology
These daily disposable lenses incorporate HydraLuxe Technology to mimic natural tears, providing a stable tear film that reduces friction between the lens and the eye for all-day comfort.
The composition of these lenses helps maintain moisture and reduce irritation by allowing the lenses to work seamlessly with your eyes’ natural hydration processes.
Wearers report significantly less dryness and discomfort, making them a popular lens choice among dry eye sufferers.
Acuvue Oasys Max 1-Day
Another daily disposable lens option, these contacts utilize Tear Stable™ Technology, to integrate high water content into the lens, effectively retaining moisture throughout the day. This approach also enhances the lens’s breathability, allowing more oxygen to reach the eyes and contributing to overall eye health and comfort.
Plus, the material in these lenses helps reduce friction between the lens and the eyelid, minimizing irritation.
For those with dry eyes, these lenses provide an excellent combination of moisture retention and high comfort, making them a great choice for managing dryness.
Alcon Dailies Total1
Dailies Total1’s are a popular daily contact lens that provides exceptional comfort thanks to their water gradient technology.
This technology helps keep the surface of the lens moist, nearly matching the water content of the cornea, which helps to minimize friction between the lens and the eye’s surface.
Fans of this contact lens enjoy its smooth feel and the convenience of daily disposables.
Bausch + Lomb Ultra One Day
These contact lenses are specifically designed to cater to individuals suffering from dry eyes.
Their MoistureSeal Technology provides a highly breathable silicone hydrogel material, allowing excellent oxygen permeability. Plus, these lenses retain up to 95% moisture for 16 hours, preventing the lenses from drying out and irritating the eyes.
With their blend of high water content and advanced design features, Bausch + Lomb Ultra lenses provide a protective barrier against dryness, making them a top choice for those battling dry eye symptoms.
Schedule an Appointment
Suffering from dry eyes isn’t ideal but it shouldn’t stop individuals from wearing contact lenses. Fortunately, when it comes to soft contact lenses, there’s a variety of options to choose from.
Connect with our team at Woodstock Vision Care to schedule an appointment for your contact lens fitting to find your most compatible lens.
