Unfortunately, contact lens wear and allergies don’t always agree with each other. However, with allergy season right around the corner, we’ve got some tips on how to keep your eyes comfortable this season.
Daily contacts. Having a fresh, clean lens every day can help combat the dryness and irritation that comes with allergy season. Also, daily contacts help reduce the amount of debris on the lens which can make allergies worse.
Hydrogen peroxide-based solutions. If you’re not able to wear daily contacts, hydrogen peroxide-based solutions (i.e. Clear Care) are the best solutions to use with rewearable contacts. This type of cleaning solution does a great job at removing all the debris off your lens and it’s preservative free which is nicer for sensitive eyes.
Allergy eye drops. If you know that your allergies are bad at a certain time of the year, ideally you want to start using allergy eye drops two weeks prior to that. We have several prescription options but there are good over-the-counter allergy eye drops like Zaditor or Alaway that work well. Both are great options and you can use them twice a day as needed. Put a drop in first thing in the morning (wait 10 minutes before putting in contacts) and then again after you take your contacts out at night.
Artificial tears. If you’re taking any oral antihistamines for allergies, this medication will also dry out your eyes. To help relieve some of that dryness, over-the-counter artificial tears can help replenish your tears. Brands like Refresh and Systane have great preservative free options and you can use these four times a day.
Give your eyes a break from contacts, at least one day week is ideal.
Finally, come see us if you’re having issues! We are here to help!