Were your contacts fine yesterday, but today they’re blurry? Blurry contacts can make life so much harder, especially since you can’t just wipe them off, like you could with smudged glasses. If you’re struggling with blurry contacts, there are multiple potential reasons for this that go beyond a worsening prescription. Here’s what you need to know about some of the most common reasons why you might have blurry contacts. 

#1. Poor Contact Lens Hygiene

If you aren’t exercising proper contact lens hygiene, you’ll likely notice that your contacts seem blurry. It’s crucial to ensure that you’re cleaning your contacts properly and handling them with care, as poor contact lens hygiene increases your chances of getting an eye infection, as well as experiencing eye pain and/or blurred vision. Left untreated, an eye infection that results from misusing your contacts can lead to blindness.

Proper contact lens hygiene includes: cleaning your contacts properly, not letting them dry out, washing your hands before you place them on your eyes and before you take them out, and not sharing your contacts with other people.

#2. You Need An Updated Prescription

Our eyesight gets worse as we get older, and if you have blurry vision, it could be because you need a new prescription in order to work for your vision changes. Given that we typically only have our eyes examined every 1-2 years, our vision can get worse over that time. If you have blurry contacts that just keep getting blurrier, it could be because you have a worsening prescription and need a new one. 

This is a fairly common reason why people have blurry contacts, due to the fact that most people buy boxes of contacts to last them a year or more in order to save money per box. By the time they’re on the last pair of contact lenses in their boxes, the prescription no longer works with their vision and they need to see their optometrist in order to get a new prescription.

#3. You Just Got A New Prescription

When your prescription goes up or if you are new to the contact lens world, your eyes may need time to adjust to the prescription. This is especially true if you’ve picked up habits of squinting, adjusting your head, or blinking in order to try to see better, and you no longer need to with your new prescription. Typically, your eyes will adjust within the span of two weeks and your blurry contacts issue should go away. 

#4. Dry Contacts Or Dry Eyes

If you’ve been wearing your contacts for too long, you may get blurry contacts because they’re drying out. This is not only uncomfortable and may cause your contacts to shift around your eyes, but can also cause your eyesight to get blurry. Applying rewetting drops that are safe for contact lenses can alleviate dry contacts, as can removing them, rinsing them out, and then putting them back in. 

In that same vein, it might not be that you have dry contacts, but rather dry eyes. Your eyes are covered by a tear film that both protects them and helps you see more clearly, due to the fact that it helps you focus light. If your eyes get dry, then you won’t be able to see as clearly. If your eyes are too dry, then your contacts won’t be able to work with them as well, which can cause that ‘blurry contacts’ effect.

Eye drops can help with this. If you frequently struggle with dry eyes, talk to your optometrist, as glasses may be a better option for you. 

#5. Movement Or Lens Rotation

If you have blurry contacts, the reason why could be as simple as just your lenses shifting out of place. If your contact lenses move, this can cause your vision to blur, as they’re not where they need to be. This could be because of a fitting issue, and you can talk to your optometrist about improving the fit of your lenses. Other times, it could be because your lenses were starting to dry out, and putting in eye drops can help your contacts move back into their proper position.

#6. You’re Wearing Them For Too Long

If you started out the day with clear vision and you end it with blurry contacts, this could be because you’re wearing them for too long. You want to ensure you are following instructions for how long you are supposed to wear them, as well as how long they need to stay in their solution in order to be cleaned. Some contacts are made to be worn for one day and one day only, while others can last a full month. You never want to sleep in your contacts, as this can damage your eyes and cause eye infections. 

These are but a few of the reasons why you may have blurry contacts. Most of the reasons behind blurry contacts aren’t serious, however, they all have the potential to become serious if left untreated. If you’re struggling with blurry contact, don’t hesitate to ask your eye doctor, as they will be able to help you determine the cause and what can be done about it. 

Wolcott Optical provides top tier contact lens services. If you would like to learn more about contact lenses, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

Contact lenses are medical devices which are very safe, if used properly and are cared for in the right way. The same as everything else, there are risks associated with wearing contacts – especially if you don’t use or care for them as directed. So long as you follow proper protocol, you’ll be able to keep contact lenses safe. If you want to keep contact lenses safe and avoid complications, there are certain behaviors you’ll want to avoid.

Here’s what you need to know about the risks associated with contact lenses and what you can do in order to keep contact lenses safe. 

Risks Associated With Contact Lenses

Since contact lenses go right on your eyes, you must be very careful with them. Properly fitted contact lenses are so comfortable that you can even forget that there’s something on your eyes. While this is one of the top benefits of contact lenses, it also puts you at risk of being more careless with them. The more comfortable you are with your contacts, the less care you may think they’ll need. However, contact lenses require daily care and following basic rules. Failure to do so puts you at risk for all sorts of issues.

Some of the common risks associated with contact lenses are as follows. 

Eye Infections

Simply wearing contact lenses instantly increases your risk of getting an eye infection. This is because you’re putting your fingers close to your eyes and because there’s something on your eyes. In order to avoid eye infections and keep your contact lenses safe, you’ll want to ensure that you thoroughly wash your hands before putting them in or taking them out. You’ll also need to ensure the lenses themselves are clean.

If your contact lenses are dirty or scratched, this can scratch your cornea and cause infection. You can mitigate your risk of getting an eye infection by keeping your contacts clean, not exposing them to water, not sleeping in them, and by ensuring that you switch your old lenses out for new ones as recommended.

Corneal Scarring

This risk of wearing contact lenses often comes about by wearing them for too long. Your contact lenses aren’t meant to be on your eyes 24/7. It’s why you need to take them out when you go to sleep, after all. In order to avoid scarring, you’ll want to keep your lenses clean, make sure they don’t have any scratches, and that you don’t over-wear them. 

Corneal scarring can cause permanent damage to your vision, but luckily, you can avoid this by using your contacts as directed and caring for them properly. 

Cut Off Oxygen

Contact lenses go directly onto your eyes. As such, they decrease how much oxygen your eyes can get. Your eyes need oxygen in order to stay healthy. Some contact lenses transmit more oxygen than others. However, the longer you have your contacts in, the less oxygen your eye is getting. This is why it’s important not to wear them for too long without giving your eyes a break and another reason why you need to take them out when you go to sleep.

This is also a reason why you should avoid costume lenses, unless you can get them with a prescription from an FDA-approved professional. 

Dry Eyes

Contact lenses absorb your tears in order to stay soft on your eyes. This can dry your eyes out, making them itch and burn and turn red. Luckily, if your contacts are drying your eyes out, eye drops can help lubricate them. You don’t want your eyes to get too dry, as this puts you at risk of scarring. To keep your contact lenses safe, make sure that your eyes are properly lubricated, and talk to your optometrist if the problem persists. 

These are but a few of the risks associated with wearing contact lenses. Some other risks you can talk to your optometrist about are: red eye, lessened corneal reflex, corneal ulcers, and more. When you receive contact lenses, you will always be directed on how to use them safely and care for them in order to avoid the risks associated with contact lenses and ensure that they improve your life.

How To Use Contact Lenses Safely

Everything has risks associated with it. Contact lenses are no different. However, as previously mentioned, so long as you use them as directed and care for them properly, contact lenses are very safe. 

In order to keep your contact lenses safe, you’ll want to ensure that you’re not over-wearing them. You will need to replace them with new lenses as directed. Only clean them with solution, never water or saliva, and make sure that you dump out the old solution and use fresh solution in your lens case every day. Make sure that you’re going to your regular eye exams, so that your prescription stays up to date and any problems are caught early on.

Wolcott Optical offers many different kinds of contact lenses. If you need advice on how to wear contact lenses safely or if you need to schedule a contact lens eye exam, don’t hesitate to contact us today! We want to help you however we can.