Tips To Avoid Dry Eye When Wearing Contact Lenses
To prevent eye dryness or inflammation, we recommend the following tips:
- Make sure youve been fitted for your contact lenses by an eye doctor, as the eye practitioner can determine the exact strength and curvature of the contact lenses you need, and recommend the most suitable lenses for your eyes.
- Regularly get your eyes examined for vision acuity and general ocular health. Contact Blacksburg Eye Associates today for a comprehensive eye evaluation.
- Purchase high-quality lenses and make sure they have good oxygen permeability. Lenses with hyaluronan, particularly silicone hydrogel lenses, are excellent for people prone to developing dry eyes. Hard lenses also come highly recommended, as they draw very little liquid from the tear film.
- Until you find a better solution, do not wear contact lenses for extended periods. If you suffer from dry eyes, it is best that you only wear them for a few hours and on special occasions, such as for an outing or to play sports. Avoid wearing contact lenses when watching TV or working at your computer, as these place a strain on your eyes.
- Make sure to dispose of lenses every day, fortnightly or monthly, depending on what your eye doctor recommends. Your contact lens containers should also be changed every few weeks to prevent any germ build-up.
Did You Know Pandemic Stress Can Affect Eyesight
The past months have wreaked havoc with most peoples lives, no matter what you do or where you live. Its become the norm to feel overwhelmed by anxiety, stress, and fear. What you may not realize is the impact this kind of stress can have on your eyes. The benefits of managing stress are therefore far-reaching, helping to preserve not only your body health but eye health, too. Read some helpful tips from our eye doctor near you on how to prevent vision complications as a result of pandemic stress.
Overcoming Anxiety Affected Eyes
There are a lot of anxiety symptoms that you can learn to easily manage, but your eye symptoms are not usually one of them. All of the ways that anxiety affects the eyes are the direct result of adrenaline pumping through your body, and until that adrenaline goes away, it’s nearly impossible to stop your eyes from reacting the way they do.
The key to managing eye issues resulting from anxiety is to learn how to manage your overall anxiety symptoms.
- Make sure you’re breathing slowly. Over-breathing can cause you to hyperventilate, which may lead to further anxiety and further eye symptoms.
- Find a distraction. Distractions take you out of your mind and away from the thoughts that are causing you stress. They can even decrease the severity of your anxiety attacks.
- Exercise. Some people’s anxiety make finding the strength to move difficult. However, research shows that exercising a few times a week, or daily if possible, can burn excess energy as well as the adrenaline that leads to eye issues. While strenuous activity that increases your heart rate is best, even going for a walk around your neighborhood or on a treadmill at home can be beneficial.
All of these strategies are only temporary and are meant to address immediate anxiety so that your affected eyes begin to relax. Some people also find closing their eyes to be helpful, since eye problems sometimes create their own anxiety.
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What If Your Eyes Seem To Be Playing Tricks
We have all probably seen the images that cause your eyes to play tricks on you. Do you know the ones Im talking about?
For instance, there are images that can cause you to see a separate image if you stare at it for long enough.
This is because of how your eye processes light and dark. The one I think I saw most recently looked a bit like a blob of white and black, but after staring at it for long enough and then blinking, you could see an image that looked like Jesus.
How is that possible? When your eye gets overloaded with one image for a while , it can cause it to leave a residue of sensory stimulation, such that when you then blink or look away, you see some or all of the image.
If your experience is different than this, it could mean you are dealing with floaters or flashes that are a bit related to stress.
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How To Deal With Dry Skin Around Your Eyes
Dry skin around your eyes and eyelids can look very different from person to person: for some, it will mean having flaky patches of dry skin, while for others, the area around their eyes will become red and inflamed. But regardless of how it manifests itself, the condition is uncomfortable and can feel embarrassing to deal with. Were giving you the inside track on managing red skin around your eyes, which creams to use for dry or flaky eyelids, and what you can do to reduce your chances of getting another flare-up in the future.
How Anxiety Affects The Eyes
When you suffer from intense anxiety, two things happen to your eyes. First, your pupils dilate. When your fight or flight system is activated, your pupils dilate to make it easier to see and make quick decisions . This is what causes issues like light sensitivity and eye aches.
You also experience a tightening of the muscles in your face. This may constrict the blood vessels to the eyes and cause further eye pain, aches, or even some blurred vision.
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What Causes Dry Skin Around The Eyes And Eyelids
Causes for dry skin in your eye area are varied, but weve broken down a few of the most common ones below. A quick trip to a pharmacist, primary care doctor, or dermatologist is the best way to get a correct diagnosis. Knowing the cause of your rash is essential for treating it quickly and efficiently, so its worth checking in for some professional advice.
Depression And Dry Eye Disease
The symptoms associated with DED can have a negative effect on the quality of an individuals life, mood, and mental health. When symptoms are severe, the individuals perception of pain along with depression, stress, and anxiety can be present. It is also thought that those who do not suffer from DED initially may develop dry eye symptoms due to antidepressant medications.
The connection between depression symptoms and the symptoms of dry eyes is fairly stunning. Patients that did not take psychiatric medications, but still suffered from depression, were found to have dry eye syndrome almost three times more than their counterparts. If patients who take medication for depression are added into the mix, the numbers rise even higher. Therefore, doctors are now becoming aware of the fact that many patients who have never been diagnosed with depression should be evaluated when diagnosed with DED.
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Are Your Contact Lenses Causing Dry Eye
Among the more frequent complaints, eye doctors receive from patients is that their contact lenses are making their eyes dry. While dry eye syndrome is very common among both contact lens wearers and non-wearers alike, the symptoms can be more severe and uncomfortable if you wear contact lenses. Typically, DES symptoms include irritated, red and itchy eyes.
The best way to deal with contact lens-induced dry eye syndrome is to visit Dr. Colleen Mitchell and Dr. John Dovie, so we can determine exactly why your eyes are dry and provide ways to increase your comfort while wearing contact lenses.
Airflow: Mask Associated Dry Eye
In the summer of 2020, an ophthalmologist reported high cases of dry eyes in his office. He concluded this was probably due to MADE. How was this conclusion hypothesized? Well, people who wear glasses know the annoyance of fogging. The turbulent air from your breath flows through your mask and fogs your glasses. This same air also makes its way into your eyes.
Any forceful movement of air into the eye causes the tears to evaporate faster. Imagine being in your car with the air conditioning or heater on high. Within a few minutes, your skin starts to feel dry and your eyes as well.
Masks are probably going to stay for the long haul so its important to know how you combat MADE. The researchers at Centre for Ocular Research & Education created this infographic that outlines what you can do to prevent MADE.
If you are suffering from PDE, speak to your dry eye doctor. They are well-equipped and knowledgeable in this specialized field. Contact your nearest MyDryEye clinic and get the help you deserve to reduce your dry eye symptoms.
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Which Products Are Best For Me
What Is The Relationship Between Your Eyes And Anxiety
Eye anxiety is what people search for in their attempt to describe a situation, in which it feels like anxiety is having an impact on their eye health or at least they are experiencing one of the following temporary , semi-permanent or recurring conditions of the eye.
Typical symptoms include the following:
- Blurred vision as if you should be wearing glasses or your prescription suddenly changed
- Floaters dots, squiggly lines, odd shapes, blotches, rings, or circles seen in bright light or when eyes are closed.
- Eye flashes may seem like a flash of lightning seen out of corner of eye.
- Eye strain your eyes feel like you have been reading at the computer for excessive amounts of time
- Eye twitch a muscle twitch in your eye that last for a while and wont go away
- Watery eyes like youve been crying or people might ask you if you have, you may have to remove your glasses to wipe them occasionally
- Dry eyes this feels a bit like eye strain mentioned above, but its a burning feeling
- Light Sensitivity The feeling you as if the light were significantly dialed up and your eyes have a hard time adjusting.
The problem is that it is often hard to distinguish a temporary problem from something serious.
Its kind of like sore joints, tendons and muscles surrounding a sprain versus a broken bone.
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What Are Common Stress
Most stress-caused eye issues are temporaryif you have a consistent issue with your eyes, no matter whats going on in your life, the problem is likely with your eyes instead of your stress level. Make sure to see an eye doctor if you have persistent eye trouble.
But when you have a massive deadline or your children all get sick at the same time, you may notice these problems:
- Tunnel vision. You may lose some of your peripheral vision and feel like you can only see straight in front of you.
- Sensitivity to light. You may feel like bright light hurts your eyes or makes it difficult for you to see.
- Eye twitching. Maybe one, or both, of your eyes will randomly spasm.
- Very dry or very wet eyes. While these are opposite symptoms, either one can be caused by stress. It all depends on how your body responds to a difficult situation.
- Blurry vision. When caused by stress, blurry vision will probably be mild instead of severe.
- Eye strain. Eye strain may be caused by something simple, like staring at your computer screen too long at work. However, it can also be caused by stress.
- Eye floaters. Eye floaters are tiny spots that swim across your vision.
These symptoms are usually not terribleyou can live with them without seeing an eye doctor. The problems are more annoying than debilitating. However, if they last a long time or are very uncomfortable, you should still see a professional just in case.
What To Know About Eye Problems And Stress
Stress can be both a consequence and cause of vision problems, according to a literature review published in 2018. In other words, having a regular eye twitch or a more serious eye condition can make you feel more stressed, and stress itself can also cause or worsen eye issues, said Julie Rosenthal, a clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Michigan Health.
Cortisol is part of the problem. The adrenal glands, on top of the kidneys, release the hormone during times of stress, and it can dilate the pupils, making it tough for your eyes to focus and causing light sensitivity and blurred vision when youre anxious.
Elevated cortisol also increases the risk of central serous chorioretinopathy , Rosenthal said. The condition occurs when fluid builds up under the retina, and it affects your central vision. Symptoms include a dark or gray spot in your sightline, blurred vision and straight lines that look wavy or curved.
Some people have a single episode of CSCR that resolves on its own within a few months and doesnt cause long-term vision problems, Rosenthal said. Others can have repeat occurrences, which can damage the retina, causing permanent changes to eyesight, including vision loss. Treatments including injections, laser therapy and oral medications can usually help, especially if the condition is caught early, she added.
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When To See Your Doctor
While dry eyes are usually temporary and treatable, the symptom can become chronic. Ongoing dryness can cause inflammation and possibly permanent damage to the surface of your eye. If you can’t get your dry eyes to clear up, see a doctor to help you figure out what’s going on. You may need to see a specialist.
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Can Stress Affect Eyesight
Stress is something we have all experienced. We may feel particularly well versed in the feelings of stress this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing so much continued uncertainty. With this in mind, its important to know the effects of stress and how you can reduce stress levels.
It may come as a surprise but stress can have a large effect on your eyesight. Whilst stress is often thought as something that occurs in our mentality, we can have bodily responses to it. Different people will have different responses to stress. These responses can be physical, mental, emotional, or visual.
When your body senses stress, your pupils dilate which lets more light in to the eye so that you should be able to detect possible threats more clearly. But when the pupils stay dilated for a longer period of time, it can cause problems. Stress can cause new conditions for the eyes and worsen existing ones. In extreme cases, it can even cause sight loss. The effects of stress on eyesight can be seen in the following symptoms:
- Blurred vision: High levels of adrenaline can cause pressure on the eyes which often results in blurred vision.
- Dizziness: You could feel light-headed or woozy due to stress. This is due to the affects stress has on the brain.
- Eye Strain: Just like the soreness of the eyes that you may feel when looking at digital screens for a long period of time, this same discomfort can be caused by stress.
- Headaches: Stress-headaches are often caused by muscle tension.
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Ways To Reduce Eye Soreness From Anxiety
Attacking this eye soreness starts by simply addressing the causes within your control. That means first going to an eye doctor and making sure your vision is in the best of health and getting a good night’s sleep to reduce any normal eye strain. You should also:
- Reduce Computer Eye Strain Focusing on small text, especially in the dark, already causes eye strain. If your vision is also affected by anxiety, the strain may increase. So make sure that you only use the computer in well-lit rooms, decrease computer time if possible, increase the size of text, and use your glasses when relevant. Computer eye strain is extremely common and possibly worse when you have anxiety, so addressing this issue directly can help.
- Give Your Eyes a Break Generally it’s best to avoid being inactive, and obviously when you close your eyes you can’t exactly engage in many activities. But if you’re starting to feel eye aches, it may be a good idea to sit back and close your eyes for a while. Give your eyes a bit of a rest from any computers, text, or anything that causes eye discomfort.
- Go For a Run Running doesn’t have a direct effect on eye strain, but it does relax the muscles and reduce anxiety. Running appears to release neurotransmitters in the brain that improve mood, and also has the ability to tired muscles out – even those in your eyes – to reduce anxiety tension.
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