Contact lenses and allergies

Today there is approximately 40 million contact lens users in the United States, of which, 75% have at a time or two reported allergic reactions. Due to allergies, different forms of eye pain are a frequent complaint. Any ophthalmologist would say that an allergy could easily be treated or better yet, prevented, with the proper eye care and right information about allergies.

Allergies are reactions to allergens or non-parasitic antigens from dust, dust mites, pollen, mold and many others. When these allergens get into the eyes, they cause eye pain, itchiness, redness or inflammation. Allergies also bring about other eye infections, pain, discomfort, teary-eyes, and some even have bouts with blurry vision. Now, contact lenses are attractive to allergens as they act like sponges. Allergens begin to build up in the contact lens because of inappropriate treatment; in this case allergies worsen the condition of the eyes.

There are three common allergic conditions, namely, the giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC), vernal keratoconjunctiviits, and atopic kertoconjunctivitis. The GPC is the most common among the three, especially to those wearing contact lens. It causes the eye to feel itchy and irritated. These types of eye pain causes urge to scratch the eyes. When one is suffering from GPC and is still wearing those contact lenses, the eye pain symptoms recur and even when those lenses are discarded, the eye infection remains. At this stage, it is best to get the best medical consultation and get eye pain treatment to help ease that feeling of irritation, and find relief. It is advised by ophthalmologists that contact lenses are not to be used while treating GPC and one should only resume to wearing those contacts once the condition has improved.

Here are a few tips to having clean, healthy eyes and keeping them in good condition even when wearing contact lenses. These tips are a great help when one is experiencing GPC.

Tip # 1 - Never rub your eyes when it feels itchy or when you get that feeling of discomfort. Instead of the scratching, place a cool piece of cloth on your eyes to ease the itch;

Tip # 2 – Keep your surroundings clean, like washing your beddings, your clothes and handkerchiefs in hot water and rinse off detergents thoroughly. This process reduces allergens;

Tip # 3 – Avoid wearing eye make-up, and if it cannot be helped, use the very least amount. Make sure the components of your eye make up are hypo-allergenic. As with your contact lens, never share eye make up with anyone;

Tip # 4 -Limit the length of time that contact lenses are worn. Make sure you know when they need to be replaced and never use the lenses again that gave you the allergies once you discarded them. Better yet, try wearing lenses part time and at other times, wear glasses. Also, using disposable lenses also help avoid deposits of allergens and eliminate the exposure to rinsing and storage solutions. Also make sure to use a rinsing and storage solutions that do not contain thimerosal, an allergenic ingredient;

Know these, live by these tips and you live safer from allergies, and appreciate your contact lenses more.