I wear contacts. Well, I used to. I stopped for a while. Now, I'm trying to start wearing them again. However, every time I put them in, I get a sty(I think that's how you spell it) at the exact same place in my left eye. So I wait a week for my eye to feel better, put in my contacts again, and POOF!- another sty. Could this be a reaction to my contacts?
FYI: I wear one Acuvue2 lens and one Acuvue Toric lens(yes, I have astigmatism in one eye). My left eye has always been worse than my right eye. I use Opti-free express "no rub" solution, and my hands are always clean when I handle my contacts.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
You can. But I don't know if what you're describing is a reaction or not. You need to get you to the eye doctor.
Posted by Kristen (Member # 9200) on :
I don't mean to scare you and this doesn't sound like what happened to me, but you definitely can and it can be serious.
My eyes reacted so poorly to my brand of contacts that they would turn red and sting when I put them in-- I was told it was allergies. Eventually, i ended up getting severe caratis (cornea infection) because it turned out they were aggravating a condition of mine called blepheritis. I'm OK now, but i was told if I wasn't so young when it happened, the consequences would have been really bad.
At any rate, you should see an eye doctor, just in case it isn't anything serious as my initial symptoms all seemed like allergies. I now use Acuvue daily disposables which are light and breathable and you don't have to worry about when to dispose of them (in case your eyes act up).
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Tinros, I'd talk to your doctor and also switch contact solution. The "no rub" all-in-one solutions have preservatives in them, and you can be allergic to those. I can't use "no rub" solution OR any kind of saline with preservates (INCLUDING "sensitive eye" saline). I had to switch to a hydrogen preoxide cleaning system, and I rinse with a preservative-free spray saline.
Also, you can get eye allergies from other things, as well.
-pH
Posted by ctm (Member # 6525) on :
Tinros, make sure you disinfect the lenses each day even when you aren't wearing them, most of the sotrage solutions aren't for longterm storage.
And talk to your doctor.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
The other thing is, if you ARE allergic to the solution, you'll probably have to throw away that pair of contacts.
For some reason, I can't use a pair of contacts again after it's had anything to do with preservative cleaning solution or saline.
-pH
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
It is also important that you not wear your contacts again until you see your eye doctor. When you see a reaction and ignore it, it can lead to long term or permanent damage. I'd not risk it by trying to wear them again until the doctor figured out exactly what was going wrong.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
See. Your. Eye. Doctor.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Tinros: 1. See an opthamologist, if you can, not just your regular eye doctor.
2. You can get an allergy to contacts.
3. You can get prescription steroid drops which might help.
4. There is an allergy drop(expensive and prescription) which has helped me, and which you can put in even while your contacts are in.
5. Try taking an allergy pill, like Claritin. It might help your eyes if you have regular hayfever-type allergies, but most importantly:
1.See an opthamologist, if you can, not just your regular eye doctor.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
To me, a person with no medical expertise whatsoever, it sounds like your contacts are contaminated. I agree with the "see your eye doctor" advice.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Als, Tinros, how old are your contacts? When they say to get new ones every six months, they men it. I have been banned from ever having contacts that are not disposable, because I was so irresponsible and took such bad care of them, and kept the same ones for years instead of months. I ended upnwith an allergy, and the doc said if I had worn them any longer, I would have developed a permanent allergy to contacts.