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An article in the Optometry Times journal called Dry eye and contact lens wear that states that 50% of contact lens wearers get dry eyes and that over 75% of people who drop out of contact lenses do so because of dryness.
But what is it about contact lenses that causes the eyes to feel so dry? Aren’t contact lenses suppose to be getting better and better? Compared to the contact lenses that existed 20 years ago, contact lenses today should feel so comfortable we don’t even know they’re there, right?
Well, it turns out that the technology that goes into making contact lenses as moist and as friction-less as possible can only take comfort so far. The rest depends on they eyes themselves being able to support the use
of contact lenses.
One of the leading causes of dry eyes today for contact lens wearers is something known as meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Not only is MGD extremely common, but people are getting this condition at younger and younger ages because of increased use of digital devices, make-up, contact lenses, etc.
What is Meibomian Gland Dysfunction?
Meibomian gland dysfunction is a condition that results in the blockage of the small glands found inside our eyelids called meibomian glands. These glands have their openings all along the upper and lower eyelid margins, and they are responsible for producing something known as meibum, which spreads over the surface of the eyes to keep them lubricated.
Meibum is a type of oil that is a critical component of the tears that protect our eyes from drying out. Without high quality meibum, the tears on our eyes will be weak, and evaporate quickly causing dryness.
Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Symptoms
For contact lens wearers, MGD means irritation from contact lenses. When the tears on the surface of the eye are not strong enough to provide adequate lubrication for the contact lenses, every time the contact lenses move (which happens every time we move our eyes, blink, etc.), the eyes will feel as though there are two giant foreign bodies stuck inside them.
MGD can also affects non-contact lenses wearers. If the condition progresses enough, the eyes will always feel gritty, irritated, and look red.
In addition to how MGD makes the eyes feel, it also causes changes to the appearance of the eyelids themselves. Over time, as the meibomian glands become more and more blocked, inflammation will result along the lid margins. This will create a red and swollen appearance of the eyelids.
When the glands have been blocked for too long, they will eventually stop working and wither away. If this happens, instead of having a nice smooth eyelid margin, you will begin to see little divots, or notches, where the glands have died. At this point, these changes are irreversible.
Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Causes
Anything that reduces the normal flow of meibum from the meibomian glands can cause MGD over time. Anything that causes inflammation along the eye lid margins will also in time cause MGD.
Some common causes of MGD are chronic use of make-up over the eyelid margins, contact lens over-wear, excessive use of digital devices, living or working in very dusty or dirty environments, acne medications like Accutane (isotretinoin), aging, just to name a few.
One of the things that is resulting in people developing MGD at very young ages is the increased use of digital devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, etc. This contributes to MGD at an early age because when we look at a digital monitor, our eyes don’t blink as much. The force of the eyelids coming together when blinking is the mechanism by which the the meibomian glands are noramlly expressed.
If we don’t blink as much, we don’t get as much expression out of the glands and the meibum builds up inside the glands. Eventually the glands get blocked and the cycle of inflammation and MGD begins.
Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Treatment
The aim in treating meibomian gland dysfunction is to get the glands working and the meibum flowing again.
To alleviate the symptoms of MGD, the use of specific artificial tears is recommended. Because an eye that is affected by MGD lacks the meibum oils on the eye’s surface, artificial tears that have been developed to include molecules that mimic the eye’s natural meibum are recommended. The most advanced drop of this kind is called Refresh Optive Advance.
==> Click here to read more about Refresh Optive Advance <==
However, artificial tears alone will not reverse the MGD, it will only alleviate the symptoms. In order to actually improve the condition, it is recommended to perform hot compresses for a minimum of 10 minutes daily on an ongoing basis.
The key to success with hot compresses is using a product that will get hot enough and will hold its heat throughout the 10 minutes in order to ensure a constant and uninterrupted delivery of heat. By performing hot compresses, the meibomian glands will gradually become unblocked, and the backed up meibum will slowly but eventually soften and start to flow naturally again.
By far, the best product to use to perform your hot compresses is something called the Bruder Eye Hydrating Compress.
==> Click here to learn more about the Bruder Eye Hydrating Compress <==
Artificial tears and hot compresses are the first steps towards treating MDG. Some optometrists may choose to prescribe you some oral antibiotics/anti-inflammatory medications like doxycycline. For more information about what medications can help with MGD, it is recommend that you speak with your optometrist.
Can Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Be Cured?
Unfortunately, meibomian gland dysfunction is a chronic condition. This means that although you can make it better using treatment, if you stop your treatment, there is a high likelihood of it coming back.
The biggest mistake people make when managing their MGD is that they stop their treatment as soon as their eyes start to feel better. This just allows the condition to return and all the gains they’ve made with their hot compresses is lost.
Conclusion
If you’re one of the 50% of people who experience dryness with their contact lenses despite being in a good quality lens, chances are you’ve got meibomian gland dysfunction. The good news is that this does not necessarily need to cause you to drop out of contact lenses. If you are diligent with about using eye drops and performing your hot compresses, you will be able to continue to wear contact lenses for many more years to come.
I hope you found this information helpful. If you have experience with meibomian gland dysfunction or dryness with contact lenses, feel free to share your experience and leave any tips you have on how to improve the condition.
69 Responses
skumps
As a contact wearer, this makes sense. I experience a lot of dryness but have always attributed that to the fact that I leave my “dailies” in my eyes for weeks (sometimes months) at a time. I know this isn’t great for my eyes. But apparently, many other things also aren’t, like my extended use of electronics (and makeup occasionally). Glad to hear that even though this dysfunction is chronic and not easily cured, I can continue to see well AND use my contact lenses by treating my eyes and using eyes drops. Thanks for sharing!
Julie
If you experience dryness with your contacts there’s a fairly good chance you have some level of MGD, Make sure you’re in a good brand of contacts, that you use good cleaning solution and that you do hot compresses to keep yourself in contact lenses for as long as possible.
Thanks for reading!
Cathy
Hi there Julie,
This is a very interesting article to read. I wore contact lenses in the past and most of them didn’t give me a pleasant experience. But then again, I work in a pretty dusty environment so that could also be another reason.
I’ve never really thought that the dryness which I experienced could due to MGD. How do you get it diagnosed? Will I only know about it when my eyelids are inflamed, even without contact lenses? Can I use artificial tears for long term to prevent the disease?
Thank you for your advice.
Julie
Your eye doctor can diagnose MGD just by looking at your eyes under the microscope. Although it is extremely common in people who wear contact lenses, it is also very common in non-contact lens wearers as well. Drops help relieve the symptoms of MGD, but only hot compresses can help to improve the underlying cause of the MGD. For this I highly recommend the Bruder mask.
Thanks for reading :)
Winn
Julie, I have never even heard of the term MGD but have experienced some symptoms mentioned in the article. On several occasions, my contacts were so dry that one contact actually fell out of my eye during a meeting or a workout. I hate when that happens! What’s frustrating and odd is that, it usually only happens with ONE eye!! So I can see clearly with the other eye : ).
Not only have I not heard about MGD, I did not even know all the ways to alleviate the symptoms. There is so much information about MGD.
My question is how do I really know if I have MGD just because I occasionally experience the symptoms? Are there tests and scientific cases where people can confirm with 100% certainty that they have MGD?
This article is really informative and helpful! Thank you. I learned something new today!
Julie
The truth is that most everybody gets MGD at some point. In contact lens wearers it happens much earlier than most people. For anybody experiencing end of day dryness with their contact lenses, I would recommend doing the hot compresses using the Bruder mask. It’s the best thing you can do to prevent having to drop out of contact lenses due to dryness.
There are some very sophisticated devices that can image your meibomian glands and tell if they are healthy or not, but MGD can also easily be diagnosed by a knowledgeable clinician simply looking at your eyelids under a bio-microscope.
Thanks for reading :)
angelicamaney
Nice article! Lucky for me I’ve been blessed with 20/20 vision. But my sister suffers from dry eyes. She’s worn contacts since middle schools and has always had problems with them. Of course, she often forgets to take them out at night. But still, nice article! I’ll pass it on!
Julie
Oh my! I didn’t mention sleeping with contacts in this article, but that’s not very good :S
I hope your sister gets to read this and it helps her out. Thanks for passing it along :)
Sabrina
Wow! This was very informative. You did your homework. I also love how you gave credibility by stating how you worked in the business for awhile.
I also appreciate that you knew when you had enough info and didn’t drag it out. You presented new information that’ll probably be helpful for many people.
Julie
Thanks for the feedback :)
Alan
I’m going to use contacts in the near future , i knew it had some issues but not about this.
Also it does make sense that one can develop MGD from using laptops and other electronics , i spend a lot of time in my laptop and sometimes i feel my eyes kind of uncomfortable.
Even if i did not have MGD yet would you still recommend doing hot compresses to prevent it from happening?
Julie
Hi, great question! Although there is absolutely no harm in doing hot compresses as a preventative measure, it is not necessary. Some people are just blessed with great glands and they never develop MGD throughout their entire lives. Hopefully you are one of those people! If you’re just starting out in contact lenses, see how it goes first. If your eyes get dry fast than you would like with contacts, try adding daily hot compresses. Thanks for the great question :)
DenisHGetov
I have perfect vision so I have never needed glasses and contact lenses. I am interested in trying color contact lenses but I hear that they cause a lot of dryness. Is that true? And it how can I prevent that if it starts to cause me dryness if it is true?
Julie
Hi Denis, well it is true that in the past, color contact lenses were not very high quality, and they did tend to dry out eyes, moreso then regular contact lenses. However, nowadays there are some very good options for color contacts that don’t dry out the eyes (at least not as much as the older ones). I recommend trying Air Optix Colors for color contacts. And if you do get dryness even with those, following the recommendations in this article should help with that.
Xander
I never had problem with dry eyes until recently. Just thought it could be spending to much time in front of my computer. Tried using my prescription glasses but hate the fit and discomfort it causes. Will have to look into getting some of these drops. Was wondering if all eye drops are safe to use with contact or do some dry them out more?
Julie
Hi Xander, great questions about eyedrops. All eye drops are definitely not created equal. My top recommendation for eye drops for contact lenses is Refresh Optive Fusion, but there are others that are good as well. For more on this topic, I have written the article Best Eye Drops For Contacts, hope you enjoy it :)
Carlton Gonder
Hi Julie,
Your article explaining what MGD is and how it effects the dryness of eyes while wearing contacts, has made me aware of why my eyes are the way they are. I will be showing this article to my wife later, and she will be so happy that I will now be wearing my contacts a lot more, since you have giving me ways to great ways to treat dryness.
Yours Truly,
Carlton
Julie
Hi Carlton! I’m glad my site was helpful to you :)
I’m guessing your wife doesn’t like your glasses huh? If it’s time for you to get new ones, you can always something really nice and great prices here.
t
This is great information and seems like a good treatment should I decide to go back to contacts (I used them before when I was very active in sports). The dry arid climate in the midwest has been more my issue, though (Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado). Thanks, Julie! ~ t
Julie
I hope you are successful with your contacts when you start wearing them again :)
Ananomyx
I had contacts for a while and I did not really experience to much problems with dry eyes, my problem was taking them on and off. I disliked it way to much and it would irritate me trying to get them in and out. lol. My cousin recently got some and he is experiencing problems with dry eyes. I will send him this. :)
Julie
Hi, thanks for passing it along! :)
What was your technique for removing your contact lenses, and where did you learn how to insert and remove them? Insertion and removal be very tricky, especially if try to learn on your own. You’d be surprised how just a few little tips can make the whole process a peice of cake!
Benedetto
One question that I always wanted to know is that I have friends and family members that wanted to do the laser thing, where their eyes get repaird and they dont have to wear glasses anymore. I was wondering if you would suggest doing that and maybe what are the dissadvantages of doing the procedure, maybe you have some friends who did it. I saw that you wrote that you did LASIK, is that the same that I am talking about, or are there other procedures that have different effects?
Julie
Hi, yes I think you are thinking of LASIK. It is a laser surgery that gets rid of your need for glasses. I have had this done myself and it is wonderful. I recommend it to anyone who is eligible for it and can afford it. There are other procedures that are similar to LASIK, the second most popular laser surgery is called PRK. They all have the same outcome, they are just done differently.
Thanks for reading :)
Conor
As someone who’s been wearing contact lenses for more than ten years now this is some really helpful information. The last few years I’ve noticed my eyes getting dryer and more irritated much earlier in the day than they used to. I’m currently a primary school teacher and after a few hours of having the air conditioner blowing on me my eyes become more and more irritated. I occasionally have stopped wearing my lenses to work and just used my glasses instead but I hate not having my peripheral vision. I’ll definitely start trying your advice of using the hot compresses in order to unclog those glands and hopefully it can help.
I also noticed you said you’d been working in the industry for a long time. How many hours a day would you recommend as being safe to wear contact lenses?
Julie
Hi Conor, thanks for the great question! As a general rule of thumb for people starting out in contact lenses I advise anywhere between 8-12 hours. More than 12 hours can result in dryness even with a really good brand of contacts. Some brands like Bausch and Lomb ULTRA claim to provide up to 16 hours of comfortable wear. Some people can get away with this. Some people can’t. Over wearing any brand can cause problems, so I generally stick to the 12 hour maximum guideline.
Raquel
Thanks, this is very informative. I used to wear contacts and had very dry eyes. I’ve tried all sorts of contacts and even resorted to dailies. But my eyes were really dry that I often wore my eye glasses instead (much easier). It caused me so much discomfort and lubricants were a must for me. Lubricants were my best friends at the time. I might have even over done it a little. Is there a limit to how much lubricant eye drops you can use?
Julie
Hi Raquel, good question! There are many different brands of drops out there and some are better than others. The limit on how many drops per day you can safely use with contacts depends on the preservative used in the drop formula. The drop I always recommend to patients who wear contact lenses is called Refresh Optive Fusion because the preservative used in that drop does not irritate the eyes at all. That means you can use it as many times as you want throughout the day.
Gina
Hmm this is interesting. I probably do have MGD. I’ve worn contacts for a long time and have always experienced dryness and irritability. I sometimes use eye drops for moisturizing contact lenses.
The hot compresses seem like a good idea. They probably feel nice and relaxing as well. Do you only get one use per compress, or is it something you use over and over again?
Julie
Hi Gina, that’s a great question! There are many different types of products you can use to do hot compresses. I’ve heard of people using anything from a hot potato, to tea bags, to eggs etc. The mask I recommend in this article is called the Bruder mask and there are 2 main reasons why I think this mask is the best.
1. It last forever. It is so durable that this mask never looses its effectiveness. Some other mask will start to loose their heat very quickly over time.
2. It produces something called ‘moist heat’ by using the moisture in the air. This is better at penetrating into the glands than ‘dry heat’.
Thanks for the question :)
Sam
I don’t wear contacts but I used to have dry eyes often, especially when I take warm showers. I went to the eye doctor and she said there were no problems with my eyes. I wonder if my daily habits and nutrition may have an effect? I will have to recommend this to my friends because I know a few people who complain about their dry eyes when wearing contacts. They always put solutions to try to improve it. I didn’t know there was a disorder that caused it. I thought it was just the contact lenses. Thanks for the info.
Julie
Hi Sam, one thing that I didn’t mention in the article but I hear very often is that people will use their contact lens cleaning solution to help moisturize their eyes when the contacts start to dry out. This is not a good strategy, as the contact lens cleaning solution is not meant for that. Instead, it is much better to use artificial tears designed for contact lens wearers such as Refresh Optive Fusion or Blink Contacts.
Mary
Your website is awesome and contains lots of information and benefits to the readers. I used to wear contacts but, gave up on them because of dryness and discomfort. I read your article and I’ve learned a lot already. Thanks for sharing your techniques on how to solve dryness with contacts. I think it will help a lot of people.
Mary
Julie
Thanks Mary! Maybe you can give contacts another try now that you’re equipped with all my dryness-busting tips! All the best!
Ray
Hi Julie,
MGD sounds like a very serious condition, I’m a contact lens wearer for many years, is it possible for anyone to get it if you don’t take care of your eyes? For any ages? I get dry eyes sometimes so I stop wearing lenses for a day or so and usually the dry eyes go away…
Also hot compress mask sounds like a great kit, but is it also good for anything else such as just simply tired eyes?
Thanks for the great article,
Ray
Julie
Hi Ray! Thanks for the great question. In fact, anybody can get MGD, not just contact lens wearers. Contact lens wearers are just more likely to get it because the contact lenses can lead to irritation on the surface of the eye and at the eye lid margins, which precipitates the MGD.
Hot compresses are a staple treatment for anyone with dry eyes, contact lens wearers or not. MGD is extremely common so anyone suffering from dry eyes could probably benefit from hot compresses. All the experts on dry eyes agree that the Bruder Mask is the most efficient tool for performing hot compresses.
I hope that helped, thanks for reading :)
PansyB
Your website has been very informational and educational to me. I was just one of those people who thought that wearing contacts was just alright and everything about it was alright.
I am hearing about meibomian gland disorder for the first time. Good thing that you have gave some solutions as to how things may be improved.
Thanks for the information. I will certainly visit again.
Julie
Hi Pansy, thanks for the feedback. I hope you are still doing well with your contacts!
Mike
Hey there Julie. I really appreciate your site and information in regards to MGD. I have been a contact lens wearer for almost 30 years and have appreciated the progress in the types of lenses available in the marketplace. I do feel that with the progress made in the field of lenses that you have hit on a problem that many of us wearers encounter in MGD. I was wondering if you have found this condition to be more prevalent in people who wear the extended wear lenses? I appreciate the features of the extended wear lenses, but I do feel that overtime they have increased my susceptibility to things such as MGD, and was wondering what you opinion might be on these extended wear lenses. Thanks. – Mike
Julie
Hi Mike! You raise an interesting question about the extended wear lenses. I personally have very little experience fitting and monitoring people with extended wear lenses. This is not often recommended by optometrists. But I imagine that if over wearing your contact lenses during the day can contribute to MGD, then wearing your contact lenses 24/7 would certainly not help. Although extended wear lenses typically are made to be more breathable, they can still be prone to dryness which can lead to inflammation which can cause MGD. Thanks for the great question :)
simon
Hi, I have always used Visine eye drops for when my eyes get dry or red. You recommended a different drop, but what do you think of Visine? Should I keep using that? By the way, I don’t wear contact lenses, I just found your article in Google when I was searching for how to improve the redness in my eyes.
Julie
Hi Simon, I think you should really stop using Visine. It is okay to use occasionally, such for for special occasions if your eyes happen to be red, but certainly not for every day, or just regular use. In the long run, your eyes can develop a dependence to it and your eyes will actually get even more red then they normally would. Instead, when your eyes feel dry or irritated, I recommend the drop Refresh Optive Fusion for you.
Barrack
Hello, your post is very well researched and full of very important details that are so helpful. My sister wears contact lenses and of late she has really been complaining a lot of dry eyes. At first i thought that is was just normal for those people who wear lenses but then the problem persisted and her eyes would swell and get red. Took her to the hospital and it did not really make a lot of changes in the dryness. When today i came upon your post that is straight to the point and easy to understand, i came to understand that there are simpler ways to deal with it. Am very much happy now because at least i know how to go about it.
Julie
Hi! Hopefully my advice can save you and your sister another trip to the hospital! Hot compresses will help improve her comfort with the contact lenses, but it sounds like her issues were more than just a little bit of dryness. I would suggest your sister get another fitting for contacts to ensure a proper fit. Then avoid over-wear, use artificial tears (such as Blink Contacts) throughout the day, and hot compresses using a Bruder Mask for 10 minutes daily. Hope this helps :)
Christine
My friend suffers from dry eyes from wearing contact lenses a lot. I will forward your information to her. She may not know about the remedies. Hopefully this will help her manage her condition.
I don’t suffer from dry eyes when wearing my contacts. Should I still use a hot compress each day as a preventative measure?
Julie
Hi, great question! You could do hot compresses as a preventative measure if you’re at high risk for developing MGD i.e, you have been wearing contact lenses for many years, you’re approaching or past your 40s, you work in a dry dusty environment, you wear eye make every day, etc. Otherwise it is fine not to do hot compresses if you’re completely symptom free!
Jenette
Definitely some great information in your article! I haven’t been wearing contacts lately due to my insurance and costs but I used to wear them all of them and occasionally I would experience dryness if I would wear them too long or I didn’t clean them well enough. I found that cleaning them really well, using eye drops, and not wearing them for longer than they should be helped. If I ever fell asleep in them by mistake, I would wake up with such dry eyes! Thanks for the advice on your article- great content!
Julie
If you are interested in returning to contact lenses, but cost is an issue for you, take a look at my Brand Selection Guide. You will be able to find the most economical brands for your preferred category of contact lenses. Then head over to my Lowest Prices page to find out where you can purchase that brand for the lowest price on the internet :)
Thanks for reading!
Susan
Julie, Thank you for the post. I never knew about what caused dry eyes or that hot compresses for 10 minutes could improve your meibomian glands. With our constant use of digital devices, i can see why this is becoming more common. What is the optimal temperature for the compresses? How long do after you begin using them do your glands unclog?
Julie
Hi Susan, the optimal temperature to start unclogging the meibomian glands is around 40 degrees Celsius. To achieve that temperature, put your Bruder Mask in the microwave for about 20 seconds. The hot compresses will gradually improve MGD over time. Most people don’t feel the benefits until about 1 month of doing it every single day, so stick with it, you have to be patient and persistent!
Simone
This article has been really helpful to me. I am starting to think that my mom might have Meibomian gland dysfunction. She does not wear contact lenses however, her eyes are extremely dry.
She has a condition known called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and since being diagnosed about 5 years ago she can barely keep her eyes open. She says the hurt all the time and it feels like something is in them.
I am not sure if this is due to the condition itself or if it could be Meibomian glad dysfunction.
Do you think the hot compress and drops could still work in this situation?
Julie
Hi Simone, I’m sorry to hear about your mom’s diagnosis. Unfortunately, in her case I don’t think the hot compresses will really improve her condition. From the little I know about Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, the problem isn’t with the meibomian glands. I wish you and your mom the best. Thanks for taking the time to read :)
Viljoen
It is very sad that Meibomian gland dysfunction or MGD is a chronic disease. I try my best to take care of my eyes. Luckily I do not have to wear contact lenses or anything like that.
I am working a lot in front of the computer and I have developed a red spot on the side closest to my nose in my right eye. Some say that it is surfer’s eye.
Are there anything that I can do to keep my eyes moist?
Julie
Hi! Surfer’s eye is not usually seen as a spot, but rather, a large area of fleshy redness covering the white of the eye (and sometimes the cornea too), usually on the nasal side.
If you spend many hours at the computer, it would be a good idea for you to use artificial tears throughout your work day. Good artificial tears like Refresh Optive Fusion will go a long way towards keeping your eyes from feeling dry and burny at the end of the day.
Additionally, doing hot compresses using the Bruder Mask can also help to keep the oils flowing from your meibomian glands, as it has been shown that people who spend several hours a day starting at a computer monitor are more prone to developing MGD because they don’t blink as much, which means the meibomian glands are not pumped as regularly as they should be. This causes blockage and inflammation of the gland openings.
Ben
Yeah… I used to wear contacts, and guess what one of the reasons I stopped was? Yes that’s right, dry eyes. However, I had no idea that this was a condition with a name! I’m not sure if I actually have MGD, but this sure is useful information, which comes in handy because I’m considering using contacts again.
Julie
Hi Ben, I hope your next foray into contact lenses is more successful than your previous one. If you need any recommendations on which brand to use, I’d be glad to discuss it with you :)
Janet
How interesting. I dropped out of using contact lenses after my optician suggested I only wear them for a couple of hours at a time. This just isn’t practical for me – I either wore them for work (office – need them in 9-5) or I’d wear them for dance practice after work which was around 4 hours.
I don’t dance now so not too bothered but it’s interesting that perhaps I could have continued using them by following your advice…
Maybe I’ll try again next time I go for my check up…
Julie
Hi Janet, I’m sorry to hear you had to drop out of contacts. But dryness or discomfort with contacts does not mean you’re only option is to wear them less or drop out. There is a reason why the discomfort happens, and if reason is addressed, and with the proper contact lens, you can successfully continue to wear contacts for years to come. Hope it works out for you :)
Emre
There seems to be some great information in this article. Thanks!
I’ve been a soft contacts wearer for more than 10 years and I’m 35 now. For the last few years, I’ve been suffering from dry eyes and I was looking for a remedy. First, I thought it’s just overwear but even after I swtiched to my glasses, my eyes are still dry.
I’d like to hear if anybody had any success so far using the hot compress technique recommended in this article.
SamDal
Hi Julie,
Important post here because my friends all wore contacts and claimed their eyes dried out and I advised them “maybe youre doing it wrong”.
It doesn’t surprise me that meibomian gland dysfunction is what may be causing it though with the amount of pollutants, stimulants and cosmetics around today, we seem to be getting sicker across the plane, not just in eye health.
So if someone has this condition and they use the treatment, is it something they need to keep using to keep the eye producing it’s natural lubricant or is it a once-off application?
I know some contacts boast of their comfort and moisture levels like Acuvue Osys and Proclear – have you had much experience with those two brands?
Julie
Hi, thanks for the great questions.
Once you’ve improved your meibomian glands with consistent daily hot compresses, you should continue to do them to prevent the glands from reverting o their blocked state.
Acuvue Oasys and Proclear are good lenses, but they are not the most comfortable lenses on the market. My recommendation for the best contacts for dry eyes are ULTRA by Bausch + Lomb and Dailies TOTAL1 by Alcon.
Norman
Eye health is so important and I believe that we should do all that we can to take good care of our eyes. This site has a lot of great information that can do a lot to educate the viewers about dry eye and contact lens. But I know also that when it comes lens we have to be so careful as to keep them clean. Have a question for you how safe are contact lens.
Julie
The risk of complications with contact lenses is very low, but it depends on how well you follow the recommendations from your eye doctor. If you don’t over wear them, and you clean them properly, and you dispose of them when you’re suppose to, contact lenses are very safe.
On the other hand, if you over wear your contact lenses, sleep in them, don’t clean them properly, or extended them far beyond their intended use, you may develop problems.
Kat
Hi Julie, I can wear contacts everyday but I have problem wearing them in a places with strong air conditioning and when I powder my face (which luckily isn’t often)..but I think irritation from powder is not really a dry eyes problem but a powder ingredients problem. Can hydrating compress help me with my issue or would you recommend something else? Thank you!
Julie
Hi Kat, if air conditioning dries out your eyes, it may be because your ‘tear film’ is too fragile. If so, doing hot compresses daily for at least 10 minutes will gradually help build a stronger tear film.
Alternatively… the air conditioning may just be on way too high xp
jazzy323
I suffer from dry eyes a lot which is why I have decided not to wear contact lenses anymore. After reading this article, I feel that there is hope at the end of the tunnel as my dry eyes sensation may be cured even if I wear contact lenses. If I start wearing contact lenses again, what is the best brand out there that will be reduce my dry eyes as much as possible?
Julie
Hi there! I’m sorry to hear that you have not been successful with contact lenses in the past. If it has been many years since you tried contact lenses, the contact lenses that are being made today are much more breathable and comfortable for the eyes than they ever were before. I would suggest discussing the brand ULTRA by Bausch & Lomb with your optometrist to see if he/she thinks it would be a good fit for you.
Jackie
I’ve worn contacts for over 30 years now. For the first 25 years, no problem at all. But in the last 5 years (I’m over 50) my eyes won’t tolerate them for more than a few hours. It’s not so much that they are just dry, but gritty as well. I’ve tried drops, but it doesn’t seem to matter much. Is this something that happens later in life?
Julie
Hi Jackie! Yes, there are many things that happen later in life that can make contact lenses a lot less tolerable than before. If you had 25 symptom free years of contact lens wear, I would say that you’re actually luckier than most! At this point, what may help is trying a more advanced brand of contact lenses, as well as working with your optometrist to find out the underlying cause of the discomfort. Good luck and I wish you another 25 years of successful contact lens wear!