If you have sensitive eyes, lens wear can sometimes seem like a perilous proposition. Symptoms such as dryness, irritation, redness, and itching can make contact lenses incredibly uncomfortable, and in the worst of cases, completely intolerable. Nevertheless, making small adjustments to your habits, practicing optimal contact lens hygiene, and being aware of the environmental factors that can trigger discomfort can help you optimize contact lens and overall eye health, even for the most sensitive of eyes.

Eye Sensitivity 101

Before exploring solutions, it is worth discussing what factors lead some eyes to be more sensitive than others. As it turns out, there are multiple causes of eye sensitivity:

Dry Eyes

The most common complication among contact lens wearers, dry eyes can result from insufficient production of tears by the tear glands, or from the rapid evaporation of the tears. This condition can be worse if the lenses are worn for a long time.

Allergies

Managing allergies with contact lenses is another factor. Inflammation caused by an allergic reaction to pollen, dust or other environmental allergens can make your eyes more reactive. Touching an irritated eye can pick up some of the allergens and then transfer them to the lenses. In addition, allergens can collect on the surface of the lenses.

Underlying Health Conditions

Specific conditions, such as blepharitis (a condition of the eyelids), meibomian gland dysfunction, or conjunctivitis (also known as ‘pink eye’) can make one’s eyes particularly prone to irritation if one is wearing contacts.

Contact Lens Material

Some materials also have properties similar to plastic lenses that can reduce comfort and cause more irritation in the eyes of the sensitive lens wearer. Low levels of oxygen permeability are also associated with a greater chance of infections.

Best Practices for Managing Contact Lenses

People with sensitive eyes often find that when they wear contacts, their eyes quickly become dry, irritated and uncomfortable. There are, however, best practices you can adopt to promote maximum comfort and eye health.

Opt for Lenses with High Moisture Content

If you are worried about dry eyes, the most important lens consideration is that the lens will stay hydrated. You want a lens with high water content, or a material that promotes hydration. Their design can promote moisturization by mimicking the natural tear film on the surface of the eye. High oxygen permeability lenses like Acuvue Oasys contacts help the cornea breath and improve comfort and the overall health of the lens.

Follow a Strict Hygiene Routine

Common irritations can be caused by poor lens care – dirty lenses can lead to infection or residual deposits on the lens surface. Before handling your lenses, make sure that you’ve washed your hands. If you have reusable lenses, it’s important to rinse them in a suitable solution after every use, and replace them according to your prescription’s instructions. Avoid reusing old solutions, as this can contain bacteria or particles, and make sure you avoid tap water. Tap water isn’t sterile, and it won’t protect your lenses from problematic microbes.

Stay Hydrated and Use Artificial Tears

You can help prevent dry eyes by getting adequate hydration. Drinking water enriches the body and helps your tear glands make tears. To deal with low-humidity environments, preservative-free artificial tears can be used throughout the day to provide comfort, and are safe to use with contact lenses.

Limit Wear Time

Although most modern contact lenses are designed for longer usage, for many people with sensitive eyes this has benefits. The restrictions on how long they can keep their lenses in their eyes can be helpful. Wearing a pair of glasses for an hour or two during the day, or only using lenses for particular activities (like sports or social events), can sometimes make a significant difference in terms of reducing the irritation. Alternatives to lenses, such as glasses, can also be useful at night or if you need a break from lenses simply because your eyes feel particularly tired or dry.

Choose Daily Disposable Lenses

For those with sensitive eyes, daily contact lenses can be the way to go. They’re meant to be worn just once through the day, then discarded. They don’t require cleaning solutions, which means there’s less risk that a protein or an allergen could accumulate on the surface, and there’s less chance of exposure to bacteria, too.

Watch Out for Environmental Triggers

Environmental triggers, including air pollution, air-con or dry air, and high pollen levels, can irritate your eyes. If you know these common triggers make your eyes feel sensitive, or if you find yourself getting sensitive eyes, then try to take note of your environment and limit exposure if you can. If you tend to get allergies, then wear sunglasses outdoors to protect your eyes from airborne allergens and use over-the-counter antihistamine eye drops to treat symptoms. Avoid wearing contact lenses in dry, windy weather, which can cause the lenses to dry out more quickly.

Use Lubricating Solutions

Not all contact lens solutions are created equal. If your eyes are sensitive, you’ll want to use a solution formulated to be as gentle and moisturizing as possible. Look for preservative-free solutions, as preservatives can occasionally cause eye irritation, even in people with normal eyes. Solutions with added lubricant or wetting agents will help keep lenses moist throughout the day, enhancing comfort.

Visit Your Eye Care Professional Regularly

By seeing an eye care practitioner on a regular basis, you may prevent problems or detect serious eye conditions such as glaucoma, which are easier to treat in the early stages. People who wear contact lenses, especially people with sensitive eyes, should have regular check-ups. Your optometrist can monitor the health of your eyes, look for damage, and check if your eyes are dry, to make sure your lens design and material are still suitable. Your optometrist can also give you special lenses and treatments tailored for you.

Proper Lens Fitting is Key

Another factor that is vital to the comfort of contact lenses, but easy to miss, is fitting. If lenses aren’t adjusted to match the shape of your eyes, they’ll rub up against your cornea and cause irritation and discomfort, or even potential damage in the long-term. Your optometrist can help to make sure that your lenses are sized, shaped, and made from the right material to accommodate and suit your eyes.

Pay Attention to Your Body's Signals

Your eyes will let you know if something is wrong. If you experience ongoing dryness, redness, swelling or pain, stop wearing your lenses and see your eye care provider right away. These can be signs of more serious problems, such as corneal abrasions or infections. Pay attention to your body and take action when it comes to measures to prevent eye injury.

Alternative Solutions to Consider

If you’ve tried many types of lenses already and you find them to be uncomfortable, then the latter options might work for you instead:

Hybrid Lenses

These lenses, which straddle the gap between soft and rigid RGP lenses, provide the comfort of soft lenses with the clarity of rigid gas-permeable (RGP) lenses.

Scleral Lenses

While typically fit on a person’s eye, scleral lenses are larger (meaning they extend over the sclera) and tend to sit on top of the eye instead of the cornea, thereby vaulting over the cornea, which lessens irritation by giving a cushion of tears under the lens. The design tends to be used on those with especially sensitive eyes, or for those who suffer from a condition such as keratoconus.

Challenging But Not Impossible

While dealing with contact lenses and sensitive eyes is often a delicate balancing act, it’s certainly not something that has to be avoided completely. Your eye care professional is your best resource to achieve success, and that success could mean that your dream of attaining crystal-clear, sharp vision with the freedom, ease and personality-boosting confidence that contact lenses can provide you, is finally within reach.