Contact Lenses
Contact Lenses for Dry Eyes
Dry eyes do not rule out contact lenses. Material choice, water content, replacement schedule and wearing time all affect comfort, and scleral lenses with their fluid reservoir often suit the most severe cases best.
Lens discomfort is the most common reason people stop wearing contact lenses, and in Arizona it is more common still. Low humidity and constant air conditioning both accelerate tear evaporation, so a lens that would be comfortable in a wetter climate dries out here.
The usual response, using rewetting drops more often, treats the symptom. The more productive approach is to identify why the eye is dry and then choose a lens strategy that suits it. Sometimes that means a different material. Sometimes it means dailies instead of monthlies, so deposits never accumulate. Sometimes it means treating meibomian gland dysfunction first and revisiting lenses afterwards.
At the severe end, scleral lenses are counterintuitively often the answer. Because they hold a reservoir of saline against the cornea all day, they can be more comfortable than any small lens and are used therapeutically for ocular surface disease.
Questions and answers
Should I just stop wearing lenses?
Not necessarily. Most comfort problems are solvable with a change of material, schedule or wearing time once the underlying dryness is addressed.
Do daily lenses help with dryness?
Often yes. A fresh lens each day avoids the deposit build up that makes later weeks of a monthly cycle progressively less comfortable.
Are scleral lenses really better for dry eye?
For moderate to severe cases they frequently are. The saline reservoir bathes the cornea continuously, which is why they are used therapeutically as well as optically.
Will drops fix it?
Rewetting drops give temporary relief and do not address the cause. If you need them repeatedly through the day, the underlying dryness needs evaluating.
Talk to someone about contact lenses for dry eyes
Appointments are scheduled two per hour, so there is time to answer questions properly. Call (480) 706-3937 or request a time online.