Summer Tips for Contact Lens Wearers

Wear Sunglasses

When you wear contact lenses, your eyes may feel sore after exposure to the sun, sand, and wind all day long.

Wearing sunglasses in the summer can help make your eyes feel relaxed and comfortable. Sunglasses are designed to protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolet rays that come from the sun. Just make sure they are UV protection lenses.

And there's an extra reason to wear sunglasses when you have your contact lenses in. Contact lenses need adequate lubrication to function properly. Exposure to wind can significantly dry your eyes and contact lenses. Wearing sunglasses while wearing your contact lenses provides a protective barrier from the drying effects of the wind.

Wear Contact Lenses With Built-In UV Protection

Certain brands of contact lenses have an ultraviolet-blocking tint embedded in the lens design. UV-blocking contact lenses are not a substitute for a good pair of high-quality sunglasses, but they definitely will reduce the UV rays your eyes are exposed to. Plus, combining UV-blocking lenses with sunglasses is a super easy way of doubling up on UV protection.

Keep in mind, however, that wearing contact lenses alone without sunglasses will not protect your eyelids from skin cancer.

Try Daily Disposable Contact Lenses

If you are experiencing a sandy, gritty feeling in your eyes, ask your healthcare provider if you can try daily disposable contact lenses.

Daily disposable contact lenses are easy to use. Each day you can insert a brand new, perfectly clean contact lens. At the end of the day, you dispose of the lens. Changing your lenses on a daily basis is often the answer for people with chronic dry eyes or allergies.

Once you try daily disposable contact lenses, there's a good chance you will never go back to your monthly or quarterly replacement lenses. Do you really want to clean and disinfect your lenses every day? And let’s be honest. How many of us are really doing a good job of that every evening? Plus, with daily disposables, you never have to purchase expensive disinfecting solutions.

Wear Eyeglasses Occasionally

Contact lenses are medical devices fit by a professional. However, they are still foreign pieces of plastic in your eye all the time. If you wear contact lenses every day, over time, they might change the way your eye cells function. You might be surprised how good your eyes feel if you just wear your glasses a few days a week.

Don’t forget to bring your regular indoor eyeglasses if you take a vacation to give your eyes a break. Also, you never know when you might develop an eye infection, which tends to be a bit more common with contact lens wearers.

Don't Sleep in Contacts

After an entire day of being active outside in the summertime, do not make the mistake of just falling asleep with your contact lenses in. Sleeping in your contact lenses raises your risk of developing an infection by six to eight times.

It is tempting, especially for people with high prescriptions, to leave them in. However, it is not a part of good ocular hygiene.

This is another reason why some people like to use daily disposable lenses. With daily disposables, you could remove your contact lenses, then pitch them into the trash can without a second thought.

Don't Swim in Contacts

Do not ever swim with your contact lenses in. That includes pools, hot tubs, lakes, rivers, or the ocean.

Highly chlorinated pools are breeding grounds for acanthamoeba, an organism that is known for causing sight-threatening infections. Showers and hot tubs can harbor this organism as well.

Acanthamoeba is found in higher concentrations in stagnant, warm rivers and lakes, but not found commonly in ocean water. Although this type of infection is very rare, wearing contact lenses in the water is a risk factor.

Use Re-wetting Drops Often

Be sure to use contact lens re-wetting drops two to four times per day while spending those long summer days outside. Contact lenses need a very healthy tear consistency to be worn successfully. Spending a lot of time outdoors and out in the sun and wind can make it difficult for your tear film to keep up with the demand.

Instilling contact lens re-wetting drops frequently will keep your lenses hydrated, keep your eyes feeling comfortable, and help you to maintain clear vision.

Not all eye drop products you may find at your local pharmacy or big box store are compatible with contact lenses. Ask your healthcare provider which type of contact lens re-wetting drops are best for your eyes.