Considering contact lenses with very dry eyes, any tips or recommendations?

[zippyswife]

After a lifetime of glasses I’m considering trying contacts.

I have very dry eyes and am worried they’ll be irritated by them.

would appreciate any tips or recommendations!

Don't.
I have dry eyes and have been advised by the optician not to consider them.

I have dry eyes and wear contacts.
Eye drops that you can use with contacts are a must.
I use a heated eye mask in the evening after I take my contacts out.

I struggled with contacts due to dry eyes. Ultimately I wear my glasses full time even though I still dream about my contacts 🙁

I have dry eyes and they irritate my eyes after a few hours - I either wear them in the daytime or wear them in the evening but not both. My optician gave me eye drops which can be used with contact lenses.

I gave up on contacts because of dry eyes. That was around menopause. If I was younger I might have tried harder but only with good advice from my optician.

Ask your optician for a free trial, they’ll give you 2/3 pairs to try at home so you can decide without paying anything.

I tried the soft disposable kind, and they literally folded under my blinking eyelids and had to be peeled off my Sahara desert like eyes in the middle of a meeting 🥸 Glasses all the way.

I have dry eyes but was a very long time user of contact lenses.

When I first got my contact lenses I was encouraged by my optician at the time to do blink exercises - to do full eye blinks at regular intervals .

And I always had lubricating drops handy.

And as a general rule I didn't keep my lenses in for extended periods.

Eyes get drier as you get older but I still managed to wear contacts successfully up until I had my cataract operation recently and now no longer need them.

I’d try to find an optometrist who deal with things like scleral lenses. Normal soft contact lenses draw moisture away from your eyes, these were meant to keep it in. A bit more tricky to handle than soft contacts.

I have dry eyes, but have been wearing contact lenses most of my waling hours for 40 years, get a completely clean bill
of eye health every six months from
my optician, no discomfort and need no drops or similar. My dry eye symptoms are wateriness, when it starts I use a heated eye patch (USB, far better than the microwave ones) and massage the lids afterwards for a few nights, this sorts it out for a few weeks and then it creeps back. The optician is fine with this. I'd ask the optician and if they agree, give them a try, they are SO much better than glasses if they work for you. If I ever have to stop wearing them I will get lens replacement rather than wear glasses full time.

Hmmm ok. My eyes are very dry think I may have to reassess the contact route!

I am going to need cataract op probably in the next year or two so might hang out till that to be able to see without glasses!

Use preservative free eye drops when you’re wearing them, a thicker lubricating ointment overnight and a warm compress in the evening and you should be fine. But obvs ask your optician as well.

Be realistic about how much wear you will get, it’s unlikely to be a total swap from glasses with dry eyes.
I wear disposables for sports and nights out but not to work in a dry, air conditioned office. I can do about 6 hours max before they shrivel up and fall out! I take eye drops and spare lenses with me if I’m going to be near that 6 hour max mark, or I just take my glasses and swap to them if my eyes are really dry

I'm the opposite. I find the contacts keep them much more comfortable. I also use hycosan dual to help with itchiness from Hayfever.

If my eyes are irritated when I put my contacts in all I feel is relief.

I use silicon hydrogel lenses.

Can you find a link for the usb patch thing? I use a microwave one and I hate it!

I couldn’t use contact lens for years because of my dry eyes. There have been some great developments though and I now wear a slightly more expensive pair specifically designed for dry eyes - they are great, no problems whatsoever!

I have dry eyes and have used Acuvue Oasys 1-day for years. I'd give them a try to see how you get on. There is also the new Acuvue Oasys Max which I'm going to try.

@JustPickleRick it was an older version of this one. I used to find the microwave one got cold far too quickly as did one you dunked in boiling water.

My contacts are monthly silicone hydrogels, and like @Moveyourbleedingarse I think they actually help a bit, my eyes water more when I'm not wearing them.

sorry forgot link
https://amzn.eu/d/0hAUEzcq

I have dry eyes and wear contacts occasionally. I do daily disposables and I buy artificial tears suitable for contact lenses (I buy from the opticians) I can’t wear them all day every day. I generally put them in before I leave the house and take them out as soon as I get in 3 to 4 days a week. I probably go through a pack of 15pairs of lenses every 5 to 6 weeks. The odd occasion where I need them in longer I make sure I’ve got drops and my glasses with me just in case.

i wesr very nice expensive contact lenses and have done for about 15 yrs - unless you get really good ones I imagine you’d struggle but I only managed because I had been a contact lens’s wearer for 15 years by that point so knew what was good & what wasn’t

Sea buckthorn oil supplements are very good for dry eyes, opticians often recommend them. As well as the heated masks and preservative free eye drops.

I'm 61 and wear rigid gas permeable lenses.

I have very dry eyes. My optician recommended I take Omega oils to improve the quality of my tear film and protect my eyes in the long term. This seems to be working. I have dry eye scans every year.

Yes! I wasn’t able to wear them for years and years and tried these and they’re an absolute game changer