Healthy Eyes, Healthy You

Contact lenses are a wonderful boon to many people. They allow people to play sports, wear nonprescription sunglasses, and go about their daily lives without having to consider their glasses. Unfortunately, contact lenses are not completely risk-free. There may come a time when you find that your contacts are causing you pain. Here are four things you should do if your contact lenses are hurting your eyes:

1. Stop wearing your contacts.

Whenever you experience eye pain, you should take your contacts out immediately and inspect them carefully. Debris and small tears in the membrane can create a painful scratching sensation on your cornea. If the problem doesn't go away when you rinse your contacts, do not continue wearing them. You should avoid putting contacts back in your eyes until you can get an appointment with your optometrist. In the meantime, wear your glasses instead.

2. Make an appointment with your eye doctor.

Pain while wearing contact lenses can be a symptom of an eye infection. Your eye doctor will need to examine your eyes to make sure there's no underlying problem causing your discomfort. Tell your doctor about your symptoms over the phone. Optometrists often make an effort to schedule patients sooner when they are experiencing pain or discomfort because these symptoms may indicate an eye emergency.

3. Submit to diagnostic tests.

Eye infections are a concern whenever a patient who wears contacts complains of sudden pain. Contact lenses must be cleaned regularly in order to remove bacteria and fungus from their surface. All eye infections are dangerous because they can lead to permanent vision loss when left untreated. Your eye doctor will test for an eye infection by taking a small sample of your tears for testing. Your doctor will also look for physical damage to your eye. Corneal abrasions can occur when your eye is scratched, either by your fingernails or by a foreign object. Corneal abrasions can cause discomfort while wearing contact lenses.

4. Follow your doctor's instructions exactly.

Treatment is available for all the common causes of eye pain. If you're diagnosed with an eye infection, your optometrists will prescribe antibiotics or antifungals to treat it. You must follow the dosing instructions exactly to fully eradicate the infection. If a corneal abrasion is found in your eye, your optometrist may prescribe rest. Moisturizing eye drops may be prescribed to help your eye heal itself. In both cases, you should avoid wearing contacts until your eyes are fully healed.

For more help or information, contact an optometrist like those at Cohen's Fashion Optical and other locations near you.