Contacts and dry eye

[DrG]

Sorry, but I believe that you have something else going on that has not been properly diagnosed. Anything that the contact lenses triggered ought to get better with time and treatment. I said that high water hydrogel lenses tend to dry out on the eye more than low water lenses, and I have the research and the literature to back that up. Otherwise, daily disposable ARE cleaner and are helpful in patients with ocular allergies. They also have the lowest rate of eye infection.

My son has worn daily disposables off and on because of his allergies. He also has dry eye and does not tolerate contact lenses well, but he wears his glasses about half the time. His eyes actually feel better with the Acuvue Oasys than with daily disposables. Not everybody can or should wear contacts, but everybody wants to. Not everybody is a candidate for LASIK, either. But some get it anyway with disastrous consequences that are completely irreversible. I see both sides of this problem.

I also said in an earlier thread that I see children who are of contact lens wearing age, i.e. 11 or 12 years/old, who have dry eyes. Dry eye is not restricted to the older population, and some of it is genetic. Since this is a dry eye forum, I expect patients here to have had problems with contact lenses. However, newer technologies have made it possible for many more people to be able to tolerate contact lenses.

[Dryeye22]

hypoxia questions

Dr. G,

What are the clinical signs of hypoxia?
Does hypoxia cause dry eye?
Is hypoxia reversible?

Sorry for all the questions! I just find myself trying to research this on my own and that is doing more harm than good!

Thank you sooo much!!

[DrG]

What are the clinical signs of hypoxia?

Lack of oxygen produces structural changes in the cornea. Edema is one. Neovascularization is another. Cavanagh and others published studies on the role of oxygen permeability on the epithelial health of the cornea. They found that overnight wear of low DK lenses causes the epithelial barrier to break down, becoming thinner, and rougher on the surface with loss of tight junctions between cells. As the DK of the lens was increased, there came a point where the corneal epithelium did not look any different than the controls, and the edema was no different from the controls (i.e. without lenses).

Does hypoxia cause dry eye?

What do you mean by dry eye? Can it cause a red and irritated eye? Of course. Can it cause punctate keratopathy, or other signs typically associated with dry eye? Yes. Can it cause alterations in the replacement rate of the epithelium? Yes.

Is hypoxia reversible?

Yes.

[Dryeye22]

than you for your answers.


I guess what i mean is chan hypoxia cause acqueous tear defficiencies?

[DrG]

I guess what i mean is chan hypoxia cause acqueous tear defficiencies?

Unknown.

I sure wish I could diagnose aqueous deficiency with such pinpoint accuracy.

[sazy123]

Hey Sazy,

The pain is around the sinuses but I don't have any sinus problems. I find my eyes are whiter and less dry when I have the face pain.

Yea this is more or less what i experiance. pain around the sinuses, not sinus pain though, its just in that area. And then eyes look whiter, no dry eye, etc, etc. When it occurs does your eyes feel normal or just abit better? When i started getting the it my eyes felt abit better but not normal. When it turned more constant, my eyes felt normal.