Contact lens question...?

Question

I am asking this on behalf of my friend Lisa. I went with her to the eye doctor. She went and got her eye exam. The doctor made the prescription. When she put on her trial pair one of the contacts gave her a burning feeling in her left eye. The eye doctor tried again with the same prescription and she had the same reaction with the burning/stinging feeling.

She told him that she washed her hands. Does not wear eye make up very often. The doctor put the old prescription in her eye and she was fine. The stinging feeling was gone and she felt fine.

What could have caused the this type of reaction. It happened to her before with the night and day contact lenses. The doctor says she has sensitive eyes. But I think there is more to it.

Help please!

Answer 1

Ive been wearing contact lenses for 5 years now and I STILL get the burning regularly.

Usually it happens to me when my eyes are dry from the wind, a cold or a heater / air conditioner.

It also happens when theres a little bit of dust etc on the lense. Sometimes so small I cant see it. Cleaning it usually helps - but not always straight away.

It burns so much my eyes get bloodshot and the tears stream out... So Id say what happened with your friend has nothing to do with their prescription - maybe more to do with dirt etc or just the fact that theyre not used to the new lenses yet.

Answer 2

The less you handle the lens the better. make sure that you wash your hands (finger tips especially) then dry them completely. i always blow on my fingers after i dry them. Then i wet my fingertips with the contact solution before actually touching them. it helps by not putting finger prints on the lens and it keeps the lenses moist.

Answer 3

Do you really intend to believe someone on the Internet over a trained optometrist? what reason do you have to doubt him?

Answer 4

It may have been because the contact lens was not properly fitted for her eye or there was something on the lens or it may have been put in backwards.

Answer 5

Well, if anyone knew exactly why some contacts bother some people's eyes and not others, then so many people wouldn't have contact complaints! She probably does have sensitive eyes, and some component of the new contacts are bothering her. That's why the doc often gives you a week to try out new lenses - to see how you react to them. So the best bet for your friend is to stay with the brand that doesn't hurt or to talk to her doc to try out some different prescriptions with different brands for a few weeks to find the right one.

Answer 6

Sometimes for me, the contact solution that cleans the contact causes a lot of burning, even to the point of my eyes tearing up directly after I put them in. The burning usually subsides within a few minutes when my eyes adjust. However, if it's a constant stinging or burning I'm not too sure. The contacts could be causing dry eye or irritation, especially since her eyes are sensitive.

Contact lenses should always feel comfortable, from my experience, or I didn't properly insert them or clean them.

Good luck and I hope this helps. : )

Answer 7

Contacts for the first time can cause this reaction in about anyone. When I first got mine, I felt like I had an eyelash in mine and couldn't stop blinking. If she is wearing them now with no problem then she should be fine. If it consest over a few days or gets worse...or whole eye starts to swell..go back.