Dry eye syndrome » Best contact lenses for dry eyes

Many people who need to correct vision problems choose to wear contact lenses instead of eyeglasses, either for cosmetic reasons or comfort issues. Many types or forms of contact lenses come with their own set of problems, however, and one of these problems can be an unpleasant dryness over time. While there is no use specific type of contacts for dry eyes, recent improvements in the materials used to create contact lenses have made them more comfortable for those with dry eye conditions.

Ideally, a soft contact lens floats on a protective tear film of natural tears during use. For people with chronic dry eye conditions, or who are constantly exposed to environmental drying agents such as long work with computer, cigarette smoke or air conditioning, this natural tear layer can be compromised. The result is an uncomfortably dry contact lens which does not move easy on the surface of the eye. Using special moisturizing eye drops can help reduce the discomfort temporarily, as can re-soaking the lenses in a cleaning solution.

The problem with many traditional contact lenses is that they contain significant amounts of water, up to 75% in some instances and are made from material, which are not able to keep water for longer time. This may not sound like a problem at first, but wet contacts tend to lose moisture through dehydration throughout the day. The water evaporates through the front of the lens, and the contact lens material draws, or wicks, tear fluid from the eyes to compensate for the loss. This creates an uncomfortable dryness which can only be relieved by rehydration of the lcontact ens. Ideal contact lenses for dry eyes should not have high water content.

The best solution is to use daily disposable contact lenses or lenses from silicon-hydrogel material. This material does not content so much water, but is possible to keep the water for long time.

The common alternative is also to moisture-absorbing soft contact lenses is a harder contact lens known as a Rigid Gas Permeable, or RGP. RGP contacts contain no water, so ostensibly they should work well as contact lenses for dry eyes. In actuality, RGP lenses can become even more uncomfortable than soft contact lenses if the wearer's tear film has been compromised over time or if he or she works in a very dry environment.