Many contact lens wearers withallergiesseem to encounter discomfort during certain times of the year.
This discomfort is due largely to allergens in the air that become adhered to contact lenses.
The allergens seem to cause miserable symptoms such as itchy, watery, and swollen eyes.
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Here are five tips to help you through the periods of discomfort.
Keep Your Eyes Moist
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Allergens tend to cause dry eyes.
Keep irritated eyes moist withartificial tears.
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The artificial tears will also wash or at least dilute the irritants out of your eyes.
Healthcare providers recommend putting in artificial tears in very frequently, sometimes as much as every two hours.
Clean Your Contacts Often
Cleaning will keep yourcontact lensesfree of allergens.
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Although preservative-free artificial tears are a bit more expensive, they often work wonders for eye allergies.
If you wear disposable lenses, consider replacing them more often.
Many contact lens wearers use a general, multi-purpose contact lens solution.
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Ask your healthcare provider about switching to a peroxide-based disinfecting system such as ClearCare or Aosept.
Rubbing will make the inflammation worse by spreading the allergens.
A cool, damp compress will help relieve discomfort.
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Put the bottle right in the refrigerator to keep them cool.
See Your Eye Doctor
Your eye doctor will recommend medical products for your particular symptoms.
There are several prescription and non-prescriptioneye dropson the market that help decrease allergic symptoms.
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Some products may even help prevent allergy attacks.
You should also see your eye doctor to rule out possible problems that may not be allergy-related.
Switch to Daily Disposable Contact Lenses
Ask your healthcare provider about switching to daily disposable contact lenses.
Daily disposable lenses seem to help alleviate dry eye symptoms and also do wonders for allergies.
Daily disposable contact lenses are actually disposed of every day.
Simply toss them in trash whether you wear them for an hour or ten hours.
Urgacz A, Mrukwa E, Gawlik R.Adverse events in allergy sufferers wearing contact lenses.
2015;8(1):81-8. doi:10.3980/j.issn.2222-3959.2015.01.15
