I’m looking for the best disposable contact lenses for dry eyes, I’m trying to stay away from the daily wear could you let me know the top contenders. also are there any color lenses that address this issue I’ve always wanted to try them?
Regarding the “best disposable contact lenses for dry eyes”, unfortunately there is not a “best lens”.
Fortunately there are a couple of great contenders. In general, the thinner and more disposable a lens is, the more dry it can be. So your decision to stay away from single use daily wear lenses is probably a smart one. With that said the latest introductions to the one day market are pretty good for dry eyes; those are the 1-day Acuvue Moist and the Procear 1-Day lens from CooperVision.
Very few contact lenses actually promote the fact they work better with dry eyes. Some of the designs that promote dry eye comfort are the Proclear line of lenses, the extreme H2O, and The Acuvue Oasys.
All work very well for the general dry eye. They are made of a proprietary material that maintain their water content without having to take it from your tear film.
Every soft contact lens has a percentage of water content. For example, if a lens is 48% water content it must maintain that level of moisture in order for it to feel comfortable and perform optimally. If it drops down to a lower water content, it must get that moisture from somewhere. On the eye, that ends up being your tear film; which in turn makes your eye feel more dry.
The lenses listed above all have fairly high water content, yet do not deplete throughout the day. So your eye, and the lens, will maintain it’s moisture.
Another school of thought is to fit lenses that have a lower water content. I often fit people with dry eyes in a soft lens with as little as 38% water content. Therefor the lens does not require as much moisture, and so your eye does not feel like it is being sapped of moisture.
Now for the biggest factor with dry eyes: Your lens solution. In my opinion, Opti-Free Replenish helps keeps your lenses the most comfortable for the longest period of time. Sometimes finding the best lens and solution combination takes some patience and determination for both you and your contact lens fitter.
A couple environmental issues that may lead to dry eye sensation are:
- Allergies
- medications
- make up close to the lashes
- old lenses
- colds
Regarding color contact lenses and dry eyes. They are some of the thinnest lenses out there, and in turn dehydrate on an eye very rapidly. So you can probably wear them, but don’t expect them to be very comfortable. However, if they are for fun here and there, you should be fine.
So in a nutshell, some lenses work much better than other for dry eyes. Because of the complexity of dry eyes there is not one lens that works well for everyone. However there is almost always a lens and solution combination that can be found to please some of the most dry eyes.
