Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did the irritation start? I've been wearing contacts for 30 yrs. I can no longer wear them in the spring. The allergies make it impossible so I just don't bother. But once summer hits, I can put them back in.

Unfortunately, it started a little over a year ago, when it was still winter, so I can't blame it on the seasons.

If I want, I can wear the contacts for a couple of hours a day, but above that it's not worth it. The eye-doctors said I'm not harming my eyes by keeping them in longer, but at some point I guess you just go with glasses. I don't think I'm a good Lasik candidate, too myopic. Judging from the feedback, it could have happened sooner, I guess.

If you have any kind of dry eye problem, you are a lousy candidate for Lasik - don't do it. I wanted to do it after i had my last child at 41 but my eyes changed. I could no longer wear soft lenses withour redness and sometimes the lenses would even adhere to the eyes. I tried everything, including a hard lens that is supposed to help. I finally found a good opthmal. who test me and said I had severe dry eye (a medical condition) and that I had to do certain drops (restasis) and other things every day and no Lasik. Flash forward 18 years I have debilitating dry eyes so am so very glad I never had Lasik. Don't do it. And get yoursel to the best corneal specailist you can find who really understands dry eye. They should do a tissue test on your eye to determine how dry your eyes are.

I was tested for lasik in my 40s, and it was too late for me. Well, I say too late. The dr said I'd still need to wear glasses for close reading, which I do all day at the computer. The reason was my eyes were aging like the rest of me. Wish I'd had lasik done in my 30s, but I couldn't afford it then.

I have rosacea and ocular rosacea and take low dose doxycycline and it has improved my eye comfort tremendously. After 50 I had to try different brands of contacts. I found some B&L super comfort dailies - I'll have to go look up the exact name - and they are the only contacts I can use.

I am 51 and was having problems with contacts. Turns out I needed bifocal contacts! And with those you need to use the heavy duty overnight peroxide cleaner. This helps with the dry eye and comfort issues. So, I am back to wearing contacts pretty much all day. It isn't perfect when it comes to reading and probably not as good as wearing glasses. But, for sports and everyday vision this works for me.

I am a PP and I am not a candidate for Lasik. Looked into it when I was in my 30s, and my corneas are too thin and pupils are too large. Lasik center said they could *probably* handle it but couldn't guarantee I'd be glasses-free (which is kind of the point of Lasik), but trusted optometrist advised me to not pursue it for these reasons. Eyes started getting dry in my mid-40s, and now I just try to limit my contact use when possible. It's hard because my driving vision is much better with contacts, but reading vision is much better with glasses. So I try to plan my days to be primarily work (at home) or errands/outings.

it could be worse you could have this problem and "not be a candidate" for Lasik..

OK, so I am not over 50 (am 39) but I have similar issues. Have been wearing contacts for 20 years and have had dry eyes on occasion since last summer. I recently got new glasses to give my eyes a break and I feel I can't see well with the glasses at all. Some days my vision is so blurry and I have to focus on the page before it becomes readable to me. Is this normal?

Are rosacea and dry eyes connected? I saw one PP mentioned that. I have rosacea and so do others in my family and I find I too, at age 42, cannot really wear contacts anymore. I thought it was b/c my eyes, which used to be super-vascular (after about 25-30 years of wearing contacts) but then went back to being white and less vascular after deciding to wear glasses for an adoption trip to China b/c I did not want to have to deal with dry eyes on the plane trip, or any other sort of nonsense, when I had other things to worry about. Then, once we got my DD home, it just became easier to put the glasses on in the mornings when we were rushed, and it seems like my eyes sort of "healed" themselves and were no longer always red. They looked like normal people's eyes once again. But now, if I try to wear contacts again (as I did for my sister's wedding), I find them quite uncomfortable.

Long story short: after reading this thread, I am realizing maybe it is less the fact that my eyes got less vascular, but merely that I am getting older? Which can bring with it dryer eyes? Esp. if you have rosacea too?

Have you tried different brands? My eye doctor kept trying to give me the "lastest and greatest" and they really irritated my eyes. I do a little better with different older brands. Still have many issues though with discomfort. I mostly wear glasses at this point.

My eye doctor is pushing for Lasik.

Look around you and you will see that many others 50+ are wearing glasses. Love and protect your eyes -- dry eye is nothing to mess with.

I wore contacts for 30 years and had to stop wearing them (for near-sightedness) when my vision changed. I couldn't read with my contacts in but still can read if I take my glasses off. It was the choice between wearing reading glasses and contacts or just my distance glasses.