Dealing With Contact Lens Problems During The Allergy Season
Many people consider their contact lenses a necessity. Either they don't think they look as attractive when wearing eyeglasses or they simply feel their vision has more clarity with the contacts. Allergies are one of the most common reasons that contacts can feel uncomfortable at times. If you suffer from seasonal allergy problems, there are ways to decrease the comfort so you can continue wearing your contacts.
Allergies that Affect Your Eyes
Eye allergies affect about 20 percent of the population in America. They cause a variety of symptoms such as redness, itchy or watery eyes. Other problems that can occur with eye allergies are swollen eyelids or a burning sensation.
These symptoms happen because the eyes react to a substance in the air that is perfectly harmless, but the body sees it as a threat. As a result, the body releases histamines to combat the threat, thus producing the eye allergy symptoms.
Ways to Deal with Eye Allergies
Consumers can take oral, over-the-counter antihistamines to help soothe the eye allergies. Another solution is to remove your contacts and use a sterile lubricant or saline eye rinse. This helps to flush away the irritants. Read the label to ensure the drops are acceptable for use along with contacts. After using the drops, you can clean your contacts and place them back in your eyes.
Wearing big sunglasses while you are outdoors helps prevents pollen and other irritants from getting into your eyes. Use air conditioning in your home and car during the hot weather months. Open windows allow the pollen and other irritants to enter your automobile or home.
Contacts that are Helpful during the Allergy Season
Wearing contacts that are meant to be thrown away daily is a wise alternative for people who suffer with allergies that affect their eyes. Consult with your eye doctor about the different brands of daily disposable lenses in order to obtain the best vision correction. Many people wear the disposable lenses only during the allergy seasons and then switch back to their regular contacts for the remainder of the year. This helps cut down on the overall cost of your vision correction.
The arrival of the allergy season doesn't mean that you have to resort to wearing eyeglasses or struggle along blindly without your contacts. These easy solutions will help keep you comfortable and allow you to enjoy the freedom of wearing contacts. Contact South Jersey Eye Physicians for more information.
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