Why Do My Contacts Feel Scratchy? 8 Ways to Keep Your Contacts Comfortable – Part 2
This is Part 2 of a 3-Part series on the causes of contact lens discomfort. If you’ve ever wondered, “Why do My Contacts Feel Scratchy?” read Part 1 of this series, or check out these other three possible causes below: Foreign Body in Eye, Makeup in Eye, and Scratches.
4. Something’s In Your Eye That Shouldn’t Be: Foreign Body In Eye
A speck of dirt, an eyelash, a piece of sand, or a tiny piece of fuzz flying through the air. . .any of these so-called foreign bodies can fly into your eye and cause pain that may make you cry. (Go ahead and cry! That may help it get out.)
If you put in your contact lens and suddenly feel burning, scratching or similar pain, you may have trapped one of these foreign bodies under your lens. The first thing to do is take that contact lens out immediately. Then attempt to flush whatever is in your eye out. Wash your hands really well first (you don’t need to get more dirt in your eye during the flushing process). Then use a few drops of saline solution in your affected eye to rinse the invader out.
If that doesn’t work, call your eye doctor. You may be dealing with a scratch (more information below) or a more significant eye problem.
5. Makeup in Your Eye
One foreign body that invades eyes quite frequently is mascara, but other types of make up can find their way into your eyes too. Powdery shadows and concealers contain tiny particles that fly during application and can cause irritation. Eyeliner pencils can slip into dangerous territory too. Even cream foundations and concealers can melt their way into your eye and cause a reaction that hurts—especially if you’re wearing contact lenses.
If your pain happens during or right after make-up application, your makeup may be to blame. Take your lenses out and rinse your eyes (just like above) until the pain stops. You should also clean your contact lenses well. Some of the makeup may have gotten directly on the lens and could continue to cause you problems through the day.
Most optometrists recommend putting your lenses in before you put your eye make up on, this way you minimize the chance of eye make up getting directly on your lenses.
6. Scratched Eye
Often called corneal abrasions, scratches cause symptoms such as redness, tearing, sensitivity to light and headache—in addition to that gritty, scratchy painful feeling. Sometimes trying to put a contact lens on a scratched eye will feel good, other times it will feel awful. In both cases, if you know your eye is scratched, keep those lenses out.
Your eye is one of the fastest healing parts of your body. Scratched corneas can heal in as quickly as a day, but beware. If you rinse your contact lens and eye, but your eye still isn’t feeling better after about a day, see an optometrist. Significant scratches can become infected and cause real, permanent damage to your eyesight. Play it safe and keep those lenses out until you’ve felt better for a few days.
Still wonder what could be the cause of your scratchy eye feeling? Check out Part 3 of this series.
