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Two things that never used to go together are contact lenses and dry eyes. It used to be that having dry eyes meant, in simple words, inability to wear contact lenses. Today things are different, contact lenses and dry eyes can and do go very well together.

Having dry eyes simply means that you may have to evaluate a variety of lenses before finding the right kind for you. A qualified contact lens fitter should be able to find a specific lens that will work well for most any eye, even dry eyes.

There are some manufacturers that deal specifically with the problem of contact lenses and dry eyes. For example biomedics offer their own range of frequency 55 contact lenses for dry eyes. The higher water content can be a real benefit for those suffering from irritated and dry eyes.

Rigid gas permeable lenses also work very well on dry eyes. An RGP lens is made of a rigid plastic that does not absorb as much solution as a soft lens. Therefore, RGP lenses do not dehydrate on an eye, which is what causes dry eye discomfort. RGP’s can made of a number of plastics, including some that are extremely oxygen permeable and some that have a very low wetting angle. A low wetting angle means the lens will feel moist while being worn.

The newest breed of soft contact lenses is the silicone hydrogel lens. By nature, silicone hydrogels do not dehydrate as readily as other soft lenses and may increase comfort. The right silicone lens accompanied by a good conditioning solution has been known to help many people with dry eyes.

Another philosophy is to fit a lens with a very low content. The theory is a lens that needs less water, will take less from the eye. For example, a lens that has only 38% water content will not need to take as much tears from the eye to stay moist and it is less prone to dehydration. A contact lens with 55% or more water content is going to take more tears from the eye, adding to the dry eye effect.

If irritation of the eyes continues, the contact lenses should be removed immediately and a health care professional consulted. With modern developments, there is no need for any contact lens wearer to suffer from dry eyes, so get help and remove the irritation.

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