Dry eyes are a terrible problem for contact
lens wearer’s. The lens is fine in the morning,
but by the end of the day it feels like sand.
The problem with soft
contact lenses is that they dehydrate, soaking the
moisture from your eyes. Contact lens manufacturers are
aware of the problem and put a lot of research into developing
contact lenses for dry eyes.
Dry eyes are also a problem for most computer users.
While working at the computer people tend to concentrate
and blink 25% less often than usual. Blinking is very
important for rewetting your eyes.
The following types of contact lenses
are most suitable for people with dry eyes.
Silicon hydrogel contact lenses and dry eyes
Silicon hydrogel lenses are a new generation of contact
lenses designed for exceptional comfort. Due to a new
material the lens doesn’t dry out and always stays
moist in your eye.
Successful silicon hydrogel contact lenses are Acuvue
Advance and Focus Night and Day. People who wear these
contact lenses report that their eyes don’t feel
as dry at the end of the day.
Dry
eyes and daily disposable contact lenses
Daily disposables are extremely thin and contain high
percentage of water, so they don’t feel dry in your
eyes. For example Focus Dailies
are made of 59% of water.
Daily disposable lenses
also have many other advantages, over other types of contact
lenses.
RGP contact lenses don’t dry
If dry eyes are really a problem for you, you might
consider RGP (rigid gas permeable)
contact lenses. These lenses, unlike soft contact lenses
don’t dry at all and don’t extract moisture
from your eyes.
Many people are prejudiced against RGP
contact lenses, because they think these contacts
are uncomfortable to wear. True, old hard lenses were
a pain, but this is not the case with modern RGP contact
lenses. RGP require some adjustment period, they might
feel odd in your eyes for 5-7 days, but after that most
patients report that they don’t feel their lenses
at all.
