Contact Lenses Discomfort & Pain


Contact Lenses Discomfort & PainMillions of people wear contact lenses, and most people experience discomfort at some point during their time of wearing lenses. When that discomfort strikes, don’t just wait and see if it will go away. You should contact your eye care professional who can help you identify the cause and find solutions for your discomfort or pain.

Why Contact Lenses can be Painful or Uncomfortable

The biggest cause of discomfort stems from dryness of the eye. When your eye becomes too dry, the contact lens also dries out which makes wearing them less comfortable. The good news is there are easy ways to fix this problem without necessarily changing your lenses. You can usually use some lubricating drops to return moisture to your eyes but make sure you get a product that is designed to work with your contact lenses – not all of them will. Another option is to switch to contacts designed specifically for dry eyes. These need less moisture.

Another common cause is a problem with the fit of the lenses. Because of the way they are designed, lenses can be a real challenge to fit into your eye properly.  If the lens doesn’t fit perfectly, you might have a feeling that something is in your eye. Constantly rubbing your eye will only make it worse and could damage your cornea. Obviously, changes will need to be made to your lenses under these situations so contacting your eye care professional would be the best choice.

For some people allergies or sinus problems can also make contact lenses more difficult to wear, comfortably. This is why most eye care professionals recommend having a pair of eyeglasses made to your prescription as well. That way you can always have a backup in case your eyes are irritated or watery from your contacts.

In some cases, contact lens pain or discomfort could be a result of an eye infection.

Symptoms to Watch out for

An important question you might be wondering is how you know when your discomfort is serious enough to stop wearing your contacts or to pay a visit to your optician. As mentioned above, it’s generally a good idea to always let your optician know when you’re feeling discomfort, even if you think it’s just caused by dry eyes. Your eyesight is too important to risk. However, any time your eyes start showing the following symptoms you need to remove your lenses and contact your eye care professional immediately:

  • Unusual redness
  • Swelling or puffiness
  • Unusual discharge other than tears
  • Pain

These are all possible symptoms of an eye infection. These can be treated but if you leave your contacts in during the infection you’ll risk making the condition worse and harder to treat when you do seek medical care.

In most cases, oral antibiotics or antibiotic eye drops will be prescribed to treat the infection. You will also not be able to wear your contacts until the infection clears up. Your lenses also need to be thoroughly cleaned before you wear them again or else you risk re-infecting your eye.

Risks to Eye Health

Your eyes are sensitive so you don’t want to risk their health or your eyesight by taking unnecessary risks. Even something as simple as dry eyes can lead to complications if you don’t treat it properly. Over time, the dryness will damage the tissue around your eye and might even cause scarring of the cornea which can interfere with your vision. Frequent drying out of your eyes and your lenses can actually cause irritation which makes you more vulnerable to eye infections.

As mentioned above, problems with the fit of your contact lenses could also cause eye damage. The lenses could scratch the cornea and improper placement is usually going to result in vision problems.

If you have an eye infection and do not seek medical attention, you could be putting your health at risk. Like any type of infection, these can start in the eyes and spread to other parts of your body. The infection could reach your brain or get into your bloodstream.  Additionally, the infection could cause long-term damage to your eyes and to your optical nerves.

Avoiding Eye Infections

  • Don’t over wear your contacts – The longer you keep your contacts in your eyes the more likely you are to develop an infection. Even though it may be inconvenient, contact lenses must be removed according to the type of lens and instructions for use.
  • Replace your case regularly – If you store your lenses in a case, although a case can provide some protection to your lenses, if the case itself is covered in germs then you’re risking an eye infection each time you put your lenses in your eyes. Switch/clean cases regularly.
  • Avoid non-corrective lenses – You’ve probably seen lenses which are designed to change the way your eyes look without doing anything to improve your vision. You might be tempted to wear these and give yourself a new look for a night on the town. Unfortunately, these lenses often do not have to meet the same standards as corrective contacts so wearing them could increase your risks of eye problems.
  • Wash your hands – Any time you handle your lenses your hands should be clean and dry. Hands are covered in bacteria - just think of all the things your hands come in contact with during a single day. You don’t want those germs getting on your contacts or into your eyes.

Seek advice from your Optician

The bottom line is that no matter what the reason you should always contact your eye care professional if you are experiencing contact lens discomfort. The problem may be minor but it is safer not to take a chance.

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