Contact Lens

[health2790]

I think I posted this in the wrong forum. Recently I have been having problems with my contact lenses and it strikes me as odd since I have been a contact lens user for ten years during which time I experienced little to no problems. I have had symptoms such as dry eye, redness, blurriness, eye pain, vision changes, etc. I originally thought I was having these problems because of a minor chemical exposure to my eyes. We had a spill at work and even though nothing slashed or spilled into my eye I thought it was a reaction due to that. I promptly got checked out by my optometrist. He did a full checkup and found nothing, not even minor irritation. He suggested that it was a problem with my contact lenses. We have tried two different types of contacts and although my eyes do feel better I am still experiencing some of the symptoms I had before. All in all he has checked me out a total of three times over the past month and has not found anything wrong. The OD assured me that my eyes were fine and that I didn't have any injuries or eye diseases such as Glaucoma etc. He did not even suggest that I rest my eyes and stop wearing my contacts. I took it upon myself to stop wearing them for four days. It seems to have had a positive effect as most of the symptoms I was experiencing went away but some (not all) came back once I started wearing them again. I have tried two new contact lens and I still have  the most success and comfort with my old contacts so it does not seem like these different contacts are helping.  I am thinking of switching to the one a day contact lens AKA daily disposable to see if this finally solves this mystery. Up until now I have been using a two week contact lens. Do you think making the switch to the daily disposable contacts will put an end to this problem? or 2 Should I escalate the situation and make an appointment to see an Ophthalmologist?  3. Can an Ophthalmologist find something in a test that an optometrist can't? Thank you and God Bless.

[health2790]

Thank you for the feedback, it is much appreciated. My next step is to try the one a day moist contacts and see how I respond to them. Do you recommend I rest my eyes for a few days before trying them? When I say rest I mean wearing my glasses.  My last question would be if I could withstand the discomfort would it be dangerous to continue wearing the contacts?

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

I think the switch to daily disposable could help.  Basically you either are having an issue with your particular contact lens or some type of eye condition like allergies, dryness, irrititated cornea, floaters, retinal problem or possibly both a contact problem and eye problem. If new contacts don't help, have ophthalmologist give you a thorough look and consider treatment for dry eyes and allergies.  If still having problems, at some point you might even want to consider looking into lasik surgery if you are a candidate.
You are alone.  Typically I see these type of problems in people in 40's and 50's who work a lot reading and on computer and who have tendancy toward dry eyes and/or allergies.

MJK MD