Other Causes for Contact Lens Irritation

Irritation may occur as a result of worn-out lenses, over-wear of lenses, poor care of lenses, intolerance to solutions, or infections. Irritation may also occur from poor hygiene on the part of the lens wearer.

• If worn longer than recommended or in people whose eyes are particularly sensitive, lenses may develop deposits on the surface of the lenses and cause irritation.
  
  
• A major cause of blinding eye infections is spitting on a contact lens or putting the lens in one's mouth when no solution is available. This happens when a contact lens wearer must remove a lens or if a lens falls out of the eye and no solution is available. The best prevention is to have a small bottle of rewetting solution with you at all times. Never, never put your contact lenses in your mouth to lubricate them.
  
  
• Some people use homemade or non-contact-lens saline solutions in an effort to save money. These solutions may cause severe irritation or blinding infections (some saline solutions are not sterile) and should never be used. Always use the correct contact-lens solution recommended by the fitter. If you want to change solutions, you should first check with your fitter because some solutions may be incompatible with certain lenses.