Posted by: Clear Advantage in Featured, LASIK on May 31, 2024
Contact lenses are a popular alternative to glasses. They can be a lot more convenient, but they also have their own issues and problems. This is especially true if you’re prone to dry eyes.
Contact lenses can irritate your eyes and even lead to infection. But there’s another alternative if you’re tired of wearing glasses: getting LASIK.
LASIK can help you see without glasses or contact lenses, making you more comfortable and giving you the crisp, clear vision you’ve always wanted. Keep reading to discover why dry eyes and contacts don’t mix, but LASIK can help!
Contact Lenses
Why do contact lenses irritate your eyes and make dry eyes worse? While modern contact lenses, particularly soft contact lenses, are designed to be thin and flexible to minimize discomfort, they can still cause dry eyes.
This is why you have to use contact solution with them. Putting in contact lenses dry is a sure way to irritate your eyes.
But even with contact solution, contact lenses can still make your eyes feel dry. This is because contacts make it harder for oxygen to get to your cornea.
Lack of oxygen flow makes it more challenging for your eyes to produce the tears that make up your tear film. Dry eyes from contact lenses are uncomfortable, but discomfort isn’t the only issue.
Your eyes also need moisture to stay healthy. Your tear film keeps your eyes free and clear from foreign bodies like dust and prevents the build-up of harmful bacteria.
Without it, your eyes are more prone to injury and infection. Eye infections can lead to permanent damage to the cornea, which can, in turn, cause visual problems.
Wearing contact lenses is safe for most people, but these adverse effects can happen if your eyes are particularly sensitive or prone to dry eyes. If your eyes are already dry, wearing contact lenses will only make them drier and exacerbate symptoms.
However, LASIK can be a great long-term solution for dry eyes from contact lenses.
LASIK
LASIK is a minimally invasive, low-risk procedure that reshapes the cornea to correct refractive errors.
These include nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. LASIK can correct your vision beyond even your contact lens prescription by removing specific amounts of corneal tissue with an excimer laser and a femtosecond laser.
Not only does this allow you to see without glasses or contact lenses, but it also lets you see better than you ever could with glasses or contacts! After having LASIK surgery, you’ll no longer need to wear contact lenses, so your eyes won’t be subject to the effects of contact lens use.
Your eyes can get oxygen, so they won’t get as dry and stay healthy. Your risk for infection after a procedure like LASIK will be much lower than if you wore contact lenses regularly.
There is always some risk of infection when you have any surgical procedure. However, infection from LASIK is very rare, mainly because you’ll receive antibiotic eye drops to use after the vision correction procedure.
But you also risk infection any time you wear contact lenses, and that risk is higher when your eyes are already dry. By having LASIK, you’re improving your vision and keeping your eyes healthier in the long run!
Other Benefits of No Longer Needing Contact Lenses
Contact lenses and dry eyes don’t mix, but dry eyes aren’t the only common eye irritation. If you have allergies, eye allergy symptoms can be just as annoying as dry eyes.
If you have both eye allergies and dry eyes, these can exacerbate each other during allergy season, causing increased irritation. Like dry eyes, eye allergies, and contact lenses don’t mix well.
Whether you’re allergic to dust, dander, or pollen, the most common allergen, wearing contact lenses can make your symptoms worse. That’s because allergens easily get on your fingers, even when you can’t see them.
Although you should never rub your eyes, it’s hard not to when your eyes feel itchy and even harder when wearing contact lenses. But when you rub your eyes, that dander or pollen gets stuck right to your contact lens and only irritates your eyes more.
It’s an endless cycle of misery that leads many allergy sufferers to switch to glasses during allergy season. But with LASIK, you can reduce your discomfort from allergy season without wearing glasses. Thanks to LAISK, you can get the relief you need while achieving visual freedom!
A Note About Dry Eye Syndrome
LASIK is an excellent alternative to contact lenses if you’re prone to dry eyes. However, dry eye syndrome may be a factor that keeps you from qualifying for LASIK.
Dry eye syndrome is an eye condition that causes chronically dry eyes. It requires treatment. However, you must have this eye condition under control and managed before you can be a good candidate for LASIK.
The good news is that many dry eye treatments for dry eye syndrome are highly effective. Although you may not be a good LASIK candidate immediately, you may qualify for the procedure after controlling your symptoms.
The only way to know if you qualify for LASIK is to schedule a LASIK consultation. Schedule yours at Clear Advantage Vision Correction Center in Portsmouth, NH, today! Isn’t it time to stop relying on contacts and achieve the vision you’ve always wanted?
