Prominent new vein in eye, contact lens wearer.

[jet66]

I (24 M) wear Proclear Toric lenses, which I understand have less oxygen permeability (27 according to the fact sheet) than newer silicone hydrogel lenses. I wear them for about 12-18 hours per day, and I never sleep with them.

A couple months ago, I noted a prominent red blood vein in my right eye. It doesn't reach my cornea, and is only on the white part of my eye. I've heard that veins can invade the cornea due to a lack of oxygen from contact lens use. Is a vein like this something to worry about?

My last eye appointment was 8 months ago, and I've started to wear glasses when I'm at home to reduce my contact lens wear time. I know I'm probably concerned about nothing, but I thought I'd ask. Can new veins in the white of the eye be a sign of something worse in contact lens wearers?

Thanks.

[jet66]

Thank you very much for your response. I'll schedule an eye exam with my eye doctor.

[JohnHaganMD]

Okay best of luck

[JohnHaganMD]

Yes new veins or bigger, redder veins can indicate a problem. Think eyes getting bloodshot when something gets in them or around smoke.  Blood vessels growing on the cornea is called neovascularization. Its usually on the surface of the eye. If contacts are stopped they stop growing. If the contacts don't fit or the person doesn't take care of the contacts or the person loses the ability to wear contacts (common 20% of the lasik in our practice are for this reason) and continues to wear them they get bigger and grow towards the pupil where they can cause problems with LASIK or down the line cataract surgery.  You should visit your contact lens fitter for an exam of your cornea and discussion. Also be sure the CTL fitting flips both your upper lids another cause is giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC) which is an allergic problem to contacts and is diagnosed by looking at the INNER surface of the upper lid.