Yes contacts can cause dry eyes but more often dry eyes comes first and makes the contacts uncomfortable. That medicine is not used in the USA so I can't tell you. Few 32 year old men have dry eyes and the statistics are that this is a fitting problem with your contacts since you eye feels fine with glasses. Problems like this are why many people end up stopping contacts and going back to glasses or having refractive surgery (e.g. lasik)
A closely related question, can contact lens use (soft) cause chronic dry eyes?
I've been using contact lenses for about 10 years now, my correction (for CLs) is -5.00 in BOTH eyes (20/20 with correction). I've never had dry eyes, but off late my right eye feels super dry when wearing a lens, and when I remove them it feels super cold (as if water is evaporating too fast from the eye). Vision is often blurry in this eye, when wearing contacts (blinking a couple of times restores clear vision for a while, and this blurriness is NOT present when using glasses). The left eye doesn't have this problem.
My optometrist diagnosed "Dry Eye" for the right eye, and prescribed an eye drop (called "MAXMOIST") to be applied as often as needed (at least 4 times a day when using a contact lens, not required when using glasses).
Here's the composition of the drop:
D-Panthenol IP : 5%w/v.
Sodium Hyaluronate BP: 0.1% w/v.
Stabilized Oxychloro complex: 0.1%w/v.
Sterile aqueous vehicle: q.s.
Trace: Magnesium Chloride IP, Calcium Chloride IP, Potassium Chloride IP, Sodium Chloride IP, Sodium Citrate IP, Vitamin B12 IP, Taurine USP, Boric Acid IP, Sodium Borate BP.
Dosage: As directed by physician. Rx Only, not to be dispensed by retailer without a prescription.
What exactly does this medicine do? Is it safe to use it? And what caused the dry eye? I'm 32 years old. Has the dry eye been caused by contact lens use? Or am I just getting old and this is natural?
Thanks.
Yes you are correct in your understanding. People who do not have dry eyes will have some drying of their eyes when they use the computer but usually not symptomatic. Now as those people get older, especially the women after 40 and the menopause, they may develop dry eyes then but it won't be due to the computer it will be due to the effects of again on their eye.
Two types of dry eyes: aqueous deficience no tearing dry as a bone lipid deficiency water constantly due to poor quality tears
Thanks for your reply. I just want to make sure I fully understand this issue:
There is a disease (or syndrome I guess) called Dry Eye disease and the people who have it have a problem with their tears (either they don't produce enough tears, or their tears evaporates too quickly...), so when people with this disease look at a computer screen it just makes their eyes more dry because when looking at a computer screen their eyes will blink less.
But people who don't have this disease will also get their eyes dry when looking at a computer screen (because they too will blink less), but people without this disease will not get their eyes irritated as much as people with this disease, and people without this disease can never acquire this disease when looking at a computer screen (as you said).
Is my understanding correct?
No computer use does not cause dry eyes but those with dry eyes find the computer irritating to the eye for long term use.