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Irritation in only one eye when wearing contacts - itchy, drooping. Been going on for months.

Posted , 18 users are following.

drdavidge
drdavidge

Hi, I've been a contact lens wearer for many years and have good hygene with them, taking them out and washing/soaking every night. I've never had a problem, until now. Around the beginning of June, I had some irritation that just wouldn't get better in one of my eyes. It felt like there was something in my eye and I had to rinse out my contact, but that just didnt work. The irritation starts off as the feeling that something is in my eye, then the top eyelid gets itchy, and then I notice some significant drooping/swelling of the top eyelid in that one eye. If I take out the lenses, I still have the irritation for about a half hour before it gets better. With glasses, I am completely fine, except it does sort of feel like something is in that eye, but only very faintly.

I wound up switching to glasses for a day or two and then tried contacts again, but that one eye still had an issue. I saw an eye doctor for an unrelated matter and he thought it was just allergies (Zadator drops did not seem to help). So I kept glasses and kept trying out the contacts but nothing was making it better. About 4-5 weeks later, I went to my normal eye doctor who was also not sure what it was. He checked for anything under my eyelid several times and didn't see anything there. He had me use my glasses only, switch to a new pair of contact lenses again, and use some wetting drops for a week. After that week, I tried contact lenses again and it all seemed to be better. Unfortunately, that only lasted a week. Here I am now again unable to wear contact lenses without serious irritation in just one eye.  Does anyone have any idea what this could be or what to do about it?

0 likes, 22 replies

22 Replies

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  • mrsmop
    mrsmop drdavidge

    Posted

    A long time ago, I used to wear contact lenses, suddenly my one eye kept ejecting the lens!  I haven't worn them since.  I do now have a chronic eye condition which may or may not be the reason I couldn't wear contact lenses.

    Do you clean and wear the same pair for a period of time?  If so, you may find the wear once lenses suit you better.

     

  • Marina_Dee
    Marina_Dee drdavidge

    Posted

    Possibly a tiny ulcer which would be very difficult to detect. I have one of these and it took many months of a gritty feeling and a Corneal specialist at the hospital to detect it. Once you have an ulcer it often recurs and needs daily care. Maybe your contact lens days are over,or as mrsmop has said,perhaps 'wear once' lenses will be better.
  • drdavidge
    drdavidge

    Posted

    Thanks. Any other thoughts?
  • Marina_Dee
    Marina_Dee drdavidge

    Posted

    You dont say how old you are but if you are 40 onwards it could be the start of a dry eye condition which would make contact lens wearing very difficult. More common after age 40 but can occur at any age,especially if you have an inherited predisposition.  I would suggest not wearing contact lenses for as long as possible,say 6 months or even better a year, and assess what the general health of your corneas may be.    Possibly you have a tiny lesion caused by lens wear .for many years. Dont forget that a contact lens is a foreign body and your eyes will naturally try to get rid of it,
    • djdandeleon
      djdandeleon Marina_Dee

      Posted

      this makes sense to me - i have the same problem and it seems to be hydration related (irritation in left eye only)
  • drdavidge
    drdavidge

    Posted

    Thanks. I'm only 31, and have been wearing the same brand contacts for about 10 years with no issues before this. It's so strange to me.
  • drdavidge
    drdavidge

    Posted

    Hi, this is still going on for me despite only wearing glasses for weeks at a time. Have an appointment with my eye doctor again but any other ideas what it could be?
  • Marina_Dee
    Marina_Dee drdavidge

    Posted

    Get your eye doctor to look for signs of any type of lesion on your cornea for a start. Also you mention a 'drooping' eyelid which irritates.  Do you have a blockage of the meibomian glands situated in your eyelid.which may cause a tiny lump or crust and so irritate your eye surface.    You can take a look yourself ...have a good look at the eyelid [upper and lower] rim..sometimes what looks like a very tiny cyst can be seen.  you can try smearing vaseline on your eyelid rim at night...sometimes this softens/ removes the offending crust/cyst.

    Good luck with the appt.

  • mcombes
    mcombes drdavidge

    Posted

    Pretty much experiecing the same situation here: been wearing contacts for 15-20 years, itchy eyelid on one eye only.

    Did your appointment produce interesting findings?

    • drdavidge
      drdavidge mcombes

      Posted

      My eye doctor switched me from the air optix monthly contacts to the Acuvue daily contacts and that worked for me. I too a few weeks off from wearing contacts before switching to these to make sure anything potentially damaged healed up.
    • mcombes
      mcombes drdavidge

      Posted

      Thanks for following up, appreciate you did!  I"ll try wearing dailies once I visit a doctor again....
  • wendy8121
    wendy8121 drdavidge

    Posted

    Hi I have exactly the same problem.

    did you manage to get rid of the irritation and go back to wearing lenses again ? 

    Wendy 

  • WoodFired
    WoodFired drdavidge

    Posted

    You have described my same problem.

    I wear Synergy contacts. I'm 50 and have worn contacts without issues since a teenager.

    Yes I've worn my glasses and have also seen my eye doc who sees nothing.

    I just called and asked for another appointment.

    Please keep us up to date!

    Thanks!

    • drdavidge
      drdavidge WoodFired

      Posted

      See my last post a few posts up. I've been good ever since I switched to daily contacts from my monthly ones. Fingers crossed!

  • gfrescoln
    gfrescoln drdavidge

    Posted

    I had almost identical symptoms, and my opthamologist called it GPC - its a form of conjunctivitis caused by a sensitivity to long-wear contacts. Essentially you get sort of blisters on the inside of your upper eyelid, which is the source of all the discomfort. I had monthly disposables, and was always trying to save a little money by trying to wear them for 2 months if I could manage, and apparently that aggravated the situation, so even though I wore contacts for over 10 years with no issues, I have to wear dailies now. My opthamologist recommends wearing glasses as often as possible, because apparently once you have this sensitivity that causes the GPC, it's possible it can flare up even with the daily contacts, and then it can progress to wear you aren't able to wear contacts at all. 

    Also, if you really want to gross yourself out, do a Google image search for GPC. It's kind of gruesome.

    Just sharing my experience in case its helpful smile 

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