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Medical Author:

Frank J. Weinstock, MD, FACS

Frank J. Weinstock, MD, FACS

Dr. Weinstock is a board-certified ophthalmologist. He practices general ophthalmology in Canton, Ohio, with a special interest in contact lenses. He holds faculty positions of Professor of Ophthalmology at the Northeastern Ohio Colleges of Medicine and Affiliate Clinical Professor in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science at Florida Atlantic University.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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• If you experience irritation, pain, blurred vision, redness, or light sensitivity, immediately remove your contact lenses and re-evaluate your symptoms.
  
  
  • Because you should not wear your contact lenses when experiencing these problems, you should have an up-to-date pair of glasses for these times. With well-fitting contact lenses, you should be able to remove your lenses and see well with your glasses, essentially immediately. Blurred vision, lasting for hours, upon removal of the contacts is usually a sign of poorly fitting contact lenses. If your vision is blurred, with your glasses, when lenses are removed, notify your fitter.

You should examine your contact lenses for any defects. In the case of a torn soft lens or a cracked gas permeable lens, your eye should feel immediately relieved once you remove the lens. If soap or cleaning solution gets in your contact lens case and, in turn, on your lenses, irrigate your eyes with your rinsing solution or tap water. This can be extremely painful. Then, either discard the lenses or rinse them off multiple times in the storage solution to rid the lenses of the soap.

• When the irritation is from something blowing into the eye, remove the lens and look for a foreign body. The foreign body may be removed with a cotton-tipped applicator or a rolled-up piece of facial tissue. Once removed, your eye should feel immediately relieved of the discomfort.
  
  
• If eyedrops are prescribed for an infection, you should use these eyedrops, usually with the contacts out of your eyes. Ask your doctor whether you should remove your lenses when instilling drops. You should not wear contacts when your eyes are red or irritated.
  
  
  • To instill eyedrops, hold your head back and squeeze one drop out of the bottle. Do not touch your lashes or eyelids with the dropper. Close your eye for about 30 seconds after instilling the eyedrop, and do not rub your eye.

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