Redness on edge of iris above and below

[anonynurse]

Hi. I have been having an issue with my eyes recently and now there are more added symptoms that have me concerned. At first I thought it was dry eyes. I wake up and my vision is clouded by something in my eyes. I'm assuming mucus. I have poor vision and wear contacts (not ever while sleeping). But waking up my vision is worse until I blink frequently for a few minutes to clear my eyes. Even with glasses on my vision is blurry when I first wake up. I don't think its my vision itself because once I clear what is in my eyes(mucus?) the vision clears.
    Now I've had some more symptoms added which have me concerned. My contacts have occasionally become so uncomfortable I would have to remove them. Not painful though. I haven't experienced any pain with this at all. Just lots of discomfort. As soon as I remove them most of the discomfort goes away. I even stopped wearing my contacts for a short period of time to see if that would help. It was about a week or just over that. It didn't seem to help. Even when I wasn't wearing the contacts I would still wake up with the mucus in my eyes. One eye being worse than the other. Well now for the past couple of times I've worn my contacts I've had another added symptom. When I take the contacts out...because of discomfort...I find that the top and bottom edge of my iris is red, bloodshot. The eye that has been a little worse has an odd feeling after taking out the contacts too. I'm not sure how to describe it. Its not painful or even close to painful. Its not like the sensation of an eyelash in my eye. But it feels kind of like the eye itself is dry when I blink if that makes any sense. I'm a nurse and have seen pink eye so I'm sure its not pink eye. I have no obvious inflammation or drainage and no itching/pain. Any ideas?

I have always worn the same brand of contacts (Proclear) with no trouble with them. I've used the same cleaning solution (opti-free) for years. I use a clean storage case too.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

In 99% of the cases the cause of all your symptoms are your contacts. The safest, cheapest thing to do without having your eyes examined is stop wearing your contacts permanently and wear glasses.

JCH MD

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Yes and good luck on the job hunt. The market for nurses in Missouri and Kansas is good. (ie lots of openings).
JCH MD

[anonynurse]

I really do have trouble with fogging and have heard other nurses say the same about glasses fogging. Comes from breathing in a mask that fogs up my glasses. I was told by someone that there is some anti-fog spray that divers use. I may try that.

That makes sense about starting the same contacts at a later time. I'll break from them until I can be seen. Thank you so much for your advice.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Being a physician and surgeon I've worked for over 30 years with great nurses wearing glasses and I have done over 15,000 eye procedures with glasses without fogging up being a problem. I've never had a scrub nurse complain her glasses were fogged up and she needed a break.

I don't think going 90 days without the contacts then starting the same contacts will do anything about the root problem.

JCH MD

[anonynurse]

Being that I'm a nurse. When I do find work again I will need contacts to work. I have trouble with my glasses fogging up when wearing a mask or face shield. Until then I can take a break from the contacts. Any options then? (most likely will have a 90 waiting period for most benefits)

[anonynurse]

I wish there was a way to edit posts!

Also want to add I'm 30/f. Hx of hypothyroidism, asthma. Normal BMI. No smoking, no drugs. 1-2 drinks 2-3x/year. Take Synthroid, Albuterol PRN, and the occasional Advil.

[anonynurse]

Additional info:

I would go to the eye doctor in normal circumstances. However I am unemployed and have the choice between eating and keeping a roof over my head or going to a doctor. If the replies do lead to something that can't be treated at home I'll find a way to be seen. I live in NC if anyone knows of any reasonably priced eye doctors or ones that charge on a sliding scale. Thank you for your responses!

If any additional info is needed please let me know. Thanks!