Question
Dr. Berger,
I have 2 parts to my question. When contact lenses allow more oxygen on your eye or they supposedly are better for your eye, do they tend to suck up more moisture on your eye, making it dry, and red? My eyes are red, but they are not itchy nor they hurt. It's just red. What can the possibilities be?
Secondly, when using eye drops, does the drops need to be the same brand as your contact lense solution? When I put it in my eye, I am not going to wear my contacts. I'm just concerned that if we use one brand of eye drops and then later on in the day I decide to wear contacts and need opti-free replenish solution, that those ingredients can mix and cause some sort of an infection or something weird. I have Patanol eye drops which is by Alcon and opti-free replenish is by Alcon. So if they are the same brand, is that okay?
Answer
Patanol is an ocular topical antihistamine eye drop which should be used at least 15 minutes prior to inserting contact lenses or just after removing them. It should never be used with soft lenses in the eye, and has no correlation with Optifree Replenish - so long that they are not used together.
Higher oxygen transmission contact do not "suck up" more moisture from the eye but do in fact vary in water content, thickness, material, and other properties - all of which can contribute to ocular redness. Solution sensitivity or allrgic reactions to the preservatives, which also vary, can cause conjunctival hyperemia (redness) as well as lenses which tighten on the eye over time. Eye drops do not have to be the same brand as the contact lenses but bear in mind that there are two types of rewetting or lubrication drops: one that is formulated for the rehydration of soft contact lenses and another type to rewet the eye and replenish the dry tear film to be used without contact lenses. Hope this helps you out
Dr. Ken
