Did you know that Hormonal Imbalance Affects Contact Lens Tolerance but can be Managed?

There are times when women suffer from hormonal imbalances. Hormones regulate our body systems like a boss. Anything that makes them cross will cost you pay for it later. At menopause, women suffer from serious hormonal imbalances that disturb their body fluids including tear film. Disturbance in tear film is associated with dryness that triggers discomfort and reduced tolerance with contact lenses. Although hormonal imbalances are not directly associated with your contact lenses; they do leave negative impact on your entire body functioning. If appropriate steps are not taken at time; compromising on wearing contact lenses is the last option. Fortunately, with little scheduling you can continue wearing your favorite contact lenses for vision correction even when hormones seem to be furious.

Dry Eyes, Hormonal Disturbances & Contact Lenses

Hormonal disturbances affect everyone equally when it comes to contact lenses. However people with autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, lupus etc. are exceptional cases. Since these patients are more prone to develop dry eyes, having hormonal imbalances may add more to the gross. For everyone else, contact lenses are easy to be managed provided they focus on improving the quality of life by altering their diet, consuming more liquids & by introducing healthy habits.

Dry eyes is a condition that keep reoccurring. It happens when your tear film is low in quality- either it produces insufficient oil or has high evaporation rate. Since contact lenses slightly serve as a barrier between your eyes and oxygen transmission; you may feel a bit more stinging than usual with contact lenses during hormonal disturbances.

Managing Contact Lenses during Hormonal Imbalances

1. Artificial Tears: Using artificial tears can help relieve the discomfort. Invest in good quality eye drops that are free from harsh preservatives since these can irritate your eyes. Only use eye drops that mention “compatible with contact lenses” clearly at the label.
2. Stay Hydrated: Dehydration can deplete the fluid in your eyes that compromise swift floating of contact lenses. Drink herbal teas, and increase the intake of water. Use humidifier during winter to prevent yourself from the damages of artificial heat.
3. Healthy Diet: Take wholesome meal three times a day. Include multivitamins, fatty acids and keep a good balance between omega 3, 6 and 9.
4. Special Care with Contact Lenses: Deposits of protein and lipids can irritate the eyes. Keeping them clean is crucial to healthy eyes. They tend to absorb the fluid of your eyes, so using re-wetting drops is recommended.

Also Read: [Diet you should Take as a Contact Lens Wearer]

Contact lenses have been a boon for people desiring to achieve a pleasant change. They also have helped millions of people in vision correction. However, what we forget is this that contact lenses are more than mere fashion accessory. Since they are medical devices, they need to managed and regulated accordingly. By little wise planning, you can continue to look your best with contact lenses, no matter how tough your symptoms may get!

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Birth Control Pills & Contact Lens Tolerance

4 Interior Habits that Trigger Allergic Response among Contact Lens Wearers

Contact lens wearers with sensitivities are prone to pick allergies. Either it is suspended pollen during spring or heat waves produced by the blazing sun; people with sensitive eyes find it difficult to manage with their symptoms and contact lenses. With few life style improvements, you can almost get over every obstacle affecting contact lens tolerance.

1. Wrong Type of Contact Lenses

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First things first. There are many variants of contact lenses available, including over-the-counter fake colored contact lenses. Please remember, that Korea is the tycoon of contact lens manufacturing. The Korean origin lenses are FDA approved that minimize the risk of infections. Wrong type of contact lenses may fade, cause abrasions & pick environmentally suspended external agents that may trigger allergic response. Even pharmaceutical disinfecting solution & anti-allergic eye drops seem ineffective with wrong type of contact lenses. Make a wise decision when purchasing colored contacts.

2. Wrong Type of Interior Décor

Furry rugs, soft fleecy throws & velvet curtains may concoct a picture worthy of being featured in an interior-design magazine. Unfortunately, these all are the factors behind severe & abrupt allergic attack. Without you knowing, these home-décor furnishings pick dust and encourage the growth of mites. Avoid sleeping at carpets & only use machine-washable mats/rugs. If you wear contact lenses, you need to make all measurements to keep your surroundings clean.

3. Hot & Humid Showers

Mould grows exponentially in warm & humid places. If you love steamy showers, check the lines for fungus at grouting. Whilst taking shower, make sure there is enough ventilation for the steam to get out. Otherwise, handling your contact lenses – wearing & removing them at washroom sink will only be adding more to your troubles.

4. Change Upholstery Frequently

Changing upholstery frequently is recommended especially if you wear contact lenses. Your pillow cases, comforters, bed-sheets and other upholstered furnishings breed germs & bacteria. From dandruff to pet dander & makeup remains, your pillow cases keep on depositing the allergens until you wash them at high temperature in a washing machine.

As a contact lens wearer, you need to stay aware of your surroundings. Contact lenses aren’t only fashion accessory but are also medical devices. Good personal hygiene is the first thing that you should improve once you switch to contact lenses- Then comes your home & furnishings that must be paid attention in order to prevent allergies among contact lens wearers.

Winter Eye Care Tips for Contact Lens Wearers

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Contact lenses always need ingenious management with weather. In fall you have to adjust your eyes with pollen whereas in summer & winter the longevity of contact lenses is badly affected by the dry air. During winter people suffer from dry eyes syndrome due to abrupt switching from dry indoor air to outside cold & wet air. The tear-film that is responsible to keep your eyes moist & lubricated gets disturbed due to which dryness is exacerbated. Following the tips given below may help you keep your eyes moist all the day long for greater contact lens tolerance.

1. Keep yourself hydrated. In winter people tend to neglect drinking water because of the low perspiration rate. Drinking plenty of water & continuing to consume green salads & cereals keep your body fluids balanced. As a result you get sparkling & well-hydrated eyes.
2. During summer you have to face chilled indoor air and hot plus humid outdoor air. In winter; it is the other way round. The heaters burn the moisture present in the building to modify which you need a humidifier. Do use your sunglasses & hats outside just like you wear in the summer as the low-key sun rays may harm even more when are reflected through snow & icicles.
3. Use artificial tears to keep your eyes lubricated especially if you wear colored contact lenses
4. You are more likely to get snuggled up in a cozy kigurumi and comfy couch during long winter nights. Falling asleep watching your favorite movie with a big mug of coffee cunningly turn your eyes dry without even letting you realize. Staring at screen reduces the blink-rate that adds to dryness. Try to blink more frequently & take regular pauses for a minute or two. Instead of coffee, consume green tea or chrysanthemum tea instead of regular chai.
5. Use contact lenses that are able to better hold oxygen. Contact lenses with shorter disposal time help easy management with changing weather.

What symptoms do you suffer from when wearing contact lenses during winter? Please share with us how do you keep it going. 

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Pre Xmas Winter Promotion

3 Ways to Manage Colored Contacts in Hazy Weather

Alike spring, autumn & summer patients with refractive index error need to manage their life style in order to stay comfortable during hazy weather, with the type of contact lenses they wear. During haze; smoke or dust particles are suspended most in the air due to which a feeling of discomfort is observed. Trapped foreign particles may even induce burning/stinging sensation. Haze affects field of vision & limits the visibility. Above all, it adversely affects your peepers- threatens your vision; if you wear contact lenses. Fortunately, everything is manageable; provided, you are willing to stay meticulous of contact lens handling & focused at improving your lifestyle.

1. Prevention

Let us remind our elementary lesson i.e. “Prevention is better than cure”. It is advisable to avoid staying out doors when the weather is windy or hazy. Since the surface of contact lenses is electrostatic; everything that comes into contact with them make its way inside to the cornea. Therefore, always carry a traveling contact lens kit that easily accommodates a small bottle of your contact lens disinfectant. In emergency, instead of rubbing your eyes and making things gross; immediately put off your circle contacts and disinfect them right at the spot. Monthly or daily disposable circle lenses are a better option in such changing climates.

2. Wear Contact Lenses with High Water Grade

Contact lenses with low water ratio may get dry. They increase the risk of corneal abrasions when eyes are rubbed in case of introduction of a foreign body. Though rubbing seems to calm down the slew of eye problems; it actually aggravates the condition. Contact lenses with high water grade keep eyes moist and comfortable.

3. Keep Lubricating your Eyes

When out in haze, carry lubricating drops in your bag. Rewetting drops help immediately flush out the foreign agents. Some of the advanced rewetting drops such as Blink N Clean from Abbott Pharma, disinfect contact lenses whilst they are still in your eyes. Just instill few drops, blink and Ta da!

Also Read: Contact Lens Management in Spring

Haze if composed of water vapors, do not really affect contact lens wear. However, one should be concerned if it is the other way round. Irritants can leave your cornea and contact lenses scratched. Contact lens management in haze is a bit difficult to tackle as sun glasses cannot provide protection in haze. To ensure, you stay comfortable keep a spare pair of colored contacts along with other needed accessories. Being warned is being armed, right?

Management with Computer Vision Syndrome in Contact Lens Users

Science concludes that staring at screen reduces the number of times you blink. Blinking keeps eyes moist & hydrated. Working at computer causes eye fatigue that is aggravated due to wearing contact lenses. Computer vision syndrome includes dry or runny eyes, fatigued eyes, hazy or blurred vision & redness. Patients with CVS may find it uncomfortable to continue with contact lenses. However by introducing few modifications in the lifestyle, you can get back to work with optimum efficiency.

Tips to Relieve CVS

1. Keep an appropriate distance from the screen. The angle, the distance & the height of the screen should be well-optimized. To prevent muscular strain & eyes observe caution whilst working at computer.
2. Minimize glaring at screen for long. Look away from the screen for few seconds. Look up & down. Batting eyes also provides comfort.
3. Don’t over-wear contact lenses. Though it is more about personal tolerance; it is said that computer usage reduce contact lens endurance. Since contact lenses block swift oxygen flow to the cornea, eyes feel fatigued even more when they are made to glare at the screen. If you can tolerate contacts for 8 hours otherwise; you would want to cut down it to 5-6 hours when working at computer.  
4. Environmental factors such as air-conditioned buildings adversely affect contact lens tolerance. Air-conditioning compromises the humidity level that alleviates the dry eye syndrome in computer related vision disorders.
5. Stay very observant about the screens you work at. Keep them clean, so that your eyes don’t have to work strenuously.
6. Some contact lenses are better at retaining water whereas some tend to get dry quickly. Contact lenses with high water content are though more comfortable they are known to make eyes dry. Rewet eyes using lubricating drops if burning sensation or difficulty in blinking eyes is observed.

Computer vision syndrome can be managed. Lifestyle modifications help relieve the discomfort in contact lens users. It greatly enhances the ability to refocus by minimizing headaches, double vision & difficulty batting the eyes. To keep eyes comfortable & prevent dryness, keep yourself hydrated. Drinking plenty of water and avoiding alcoholic drinks help your eyes do the talking with an unparalleled sparkle! 

Contact Lenses with Proper Compliance are proved to be a Safer Option for Vision Correction- Consensus in Singapore Reveals

Contact lenses- A safer mode of vision correction 

Singapore Contact Lens Society; comprised of professional ophthalmologists, is cognizant of the importance of constant monitoring in contact lens wearers. The society lays great emphasis on the regular contact lens follow-up for people using contact lenses for vision correction.

Ophthalmologists opine that contact lenses when followed by proper care regimen minimize the risk of infections. The society quoted a U.S study that reveals that the rate of infection induced by contact lenses is 13.9 in every 10,000 children whereas in adults it has astonishingly been reduced to zero percent. The study also reveals that there has not even been a single registered case of "contact lens related infection"; leading to permanent damage or vision loss.

The consensus further elaborates that contact lenses are safe mode of vision correction when followed by proper compliance. A clean, sterilized and FDA approved contact lens that is properly fitted ensures minimum to no risks. With proper hygiene, infections’ risk can be greatly reduced. Additionally, the follow-up sessions keep a sharp track on rising ocular abnormalities if any.

The society summarized the safe contact lens wear as follows:

1. Eyes should look good- free from redness
2. Eyes should feel good- free from itching
3. Eyes should see good- free from blurred or hazy vision

If you are an active wearer of contact lenses, keep monitoring how your eyes perform with and without them. In case, you notice an unusual secretion, itching or painful sensation; rush to your eye care professional. Follow contact lens care regimen religiously & prevent your eyes from seasonal or occasional infections that are more likely to hit people wearing contact lenses.

Related:

 Managing seasonal allergies with contact lenses