Dr. Melissa Clare Oltz, O.D.

No. Supplementing your natural tears when your eyes feel dry or irritated is a good thing. Chronic dryness, inflammation, and eye allergies can feel better with drops. See your doctor if your eyes get worse instead of better.

Green leafy vegetables! Spinach, kale, collard greens... Blueberries and other fruits high in antioxidants. Colorful fruits, vegetables including carrots... and get her outside to play : )

Go back to your doctor and tell her/him that the contacts hurt. There are plenty of contact lens types and sizes and should never “hurt”. Even the rigid gas permeable ones can be modified to increase the comfort. Your eyes are painful for a reason and if the hurt goes away when the contacts come out, you need a different contact.

Astigmatism by itself won’t make your eyes look different. If you have a high prescription in one eye only, glasses can make that eye look bigger or smaller compared to the other eye. If this is the case, wearing contact lenses or getting refractive surgery will solve the problem.

You need to see your eye care professional to get your eye power properly adjusted. Make sure you get checked at an actual eye doctor, not an online prescription ordering facility. Headaches can be a clue to many eye conditions.

Your eyes are probably drying out under the contacts which act like bandaids, masking the symptoms of dry eyes. Once you pull off the contact (and probably part of the top layer of cells of the corneas), you are exposing the nerve endings that were covered by the contact and they will start firing like crazy, leading to an uncomfortable, red eye. If you are having sore, red eyes after removing contacts, you should:
#1 put drops in throughout the day over the top of the contacts (start at 4x/day and go up or down from there and make sure that the drops say that they are approved for contacts), #2 put a drop in about 1 minute before taking out your lenses to float them and make sure they are not sticking to the front of the eye, #3 reduce wearing time or take a break from the contacts in the middle of the day and let them soak in solution, #4 if the above instructions don’t stop your symptoms: see your eye doctor and have them check for Keratitis, GPC, corneal infiltrates, and mechanical rubbing of the contact lenses on the eyes. You may need to be switched to daily disposable contacts or need medicated eye drops.
Keep in mind, if your eyes are sore or red, NEVER put a contact lens on them...you are inviting problems.

An allergy or chronic dry eye can make the nerves in the eye extra sensitive, which can trigger light sensitivity and tearing. However, if this is an ongoing problem that stays relatively consistent, the more likely cause is depleted macular pigments. Lutein and Xeazanthin absorb light in the outermost layer of the retina called the retinal pigment epithelium. These pigments get depleted over time in certain individuals. You can replenish these pigments by eating kale, spinach, or collard greens daily (or pick up a Lutein and Xeazanthin supplement). Within 3-4 weeks, you will become less light sensitive. In the meantime, wear sunglasses with IVA and UVB protection, address any dryness issues (pick one of the following drops that contain oil layers to help hold your tears on your eyes while outside: Refresh Advanced, Soothe XP, Retaine, or Systane Balance). Allergies should be managed as well: wash face and eyelids/lashes several times a day and use antihistamine drops as needed. If you are still having problems, you should see an eye care professional to determine the exact cause of your symptoms.

Usually that means you have ocular surface problems such as dry eye. If you are concentrating on something, you tend to blink less and the vision will become hazy/blurry/distorted over time. Once you move on to something else and you start resuming your normal habits, the vision will gradually go back to normal. Spending excess time in the wind, driving long distances, extensive computer use can all "crash" the vision. It is not uncommon for a person with 20/20 vision normally to drop to 20/80 or worse in these situations.
Melissa Oltz, O.D., F.A.A.O.