by Dr. Haris Dzubur
Over 30 million Americans wear contact lenses (“Contact Lenses: Fast Facts”), but many are unaware of the relationship between contacts and dry eye disease.
Dry eye disease can present as a wide range of symptoms, including feelings of dryness, grittiness, irritation, or simply tired eyes. Most people assume that they have to stop wearing contacts in order to get relief or just to give their eyes a break.
Contact lenses act as tiny sponges on our eyes that steal our tears in order to keep themselves lubricated and functional. Just take a contact lens and place it on your counter for five minutes.
On second thought, let me do it for you:
As you can see the 5-minute lens, looks much different than the 5-second lens. This happens to all soft contact lenses when left out of the water.
So, to quote myself, “A contact lens, not on your eye, is like a fish out of water.”
We initiate a form of dry eye therapy with all our new or existing Contact Lens wearers, by doing this we set them up for long term success with. It is my firm belief that punctal occlusion and/or the, “sandwich method” should be provided for all contact lens wearers.
- “Contact Lenses: Fast Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” January 22, 2015.
