Red eye with my contact lenses

[itsholly]

I've been wearing contacts for about two years. Then at the beginning of May my eye was red for about two weeks. There wasn't any pain, discharge or blurred vision. I went to the opticians about it and they said it was dry and inflamed, so they told me to get some dry eyes drops and they would send a letter to the hospital.
A week later after use of the drops 3 times a day and a lot of fuss about the letter to the hospital that never came, we went to the eye infirmary who gave us some ointment to use four times a day for a week, then to not wear my contacts for another week then put them back in (so all in all my contacts will have been out for three weeks).
The opticans rang us up and asked how my eye was, so we told them, and they said I should get a contact lens check to make sure my eye is definitely okay before putting the contacts back in.
My eye has cleared up fine now, but I want to know if you know what might have been wrong with it? And will it happen again if my contacts go back in? Will I need a new type of contacts, or a new solution?

[kivrin]

If your eye was dry --something that happens with contact wear -- getting it moist will definitely help. I actually can get such dry eyes that the doc can see pits on the surface. I would definitely get a check before going back to contacts, but I wouldn't worry too much.

You shouldn't (lay opinion here) need new contacts -- although if your eyes are that dry, you might consider another brand .. there are some out there that are better at retaining moisture. (So new brand, not new prescription). Same advice with the solution.

I would definitely make sure to replace my bottle of contact lens solution, wash (in boiling water) your contact lens case, and make sure to use a new contact before trying contacts again. If it was an allergen, infection, or even a scrape on the cornea ... those safeguards should help.

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

Get check before putting contact lens in the eye.  If the symptoms recur, then they will know it is related to the contact lens or solution.

They should be able to check for dry eyes without the contact lens.

Dr. O.