When Is It Time to Replace My Contacts? 7 Signs You Need a New Pair
Wearing contact lenses past their due date poses many dangers to your eyes. Old contacts can cause, not only, eye infections, but corneal ulcers as well. For this reason, you need to be aware of the state of your contacts at all times. How can you do this? By looking out for some specific signs. If you recognize any of the following signs, then it is likely time to change your contacts.
1. Your Contacts Have Expired
Perhaps the biggest sign that it's time to replace your contacts is that they're past their expiration date. Under no circumstances should you continue to wear contact lenses after they've expired. Manufacturers have created them to be effective for a designated period of time. And no longer than that timeframe.
Old contacts will start to display wear and tear long before their expiration date. They’ll wear thin and develop microscopic tears. In an ideal situation, you’d replace your contacts before they even have a chance to hit this expiration date. So if you haven't already, make sure to swap them out as soon as possible. Wearing old lenses can facilitate everything from simple eye irritation to infections or worse.
2. Your Contacts Make Your Eyes Burn
Do your eyes start burning within hours of putting your contacts in? If so, then they’re not serving you well. Some people can grow accustomed to a burning sensation from their lenses. The fact of the matter is that this feeling shouldn’t exist. If a brand new pair of contacts is causing your eyes to burn, it's likely just not the right pair for you. Every eye is unique after all, and needs something a little different in terms of their material and the way they feel.
Have you been wearing the same set of lenses for a long time? Are they starting to burn? Then they’ve likely accumulated small tears and scratches that are irritating your eyes. In any case, you need to make a change ASAP. Allowing your eyes to continuously have this sensation could eventually result in infection.
3. Your Eyes Are Always Red
Since contacts should not be making your eyes burn, they also shouldn’t be making your eyes red. Do your eyes turn bloodshot within hours of inserting your contacts? Then you need new contacts.
Eye redness appears for the same two reasons that burning occurs:
- Your new contacts are not a good fit for your eyes.
- Your old contacts have developed irritation-inducing tears and rips.
Note that you could also have something on your contact lens (i.e. lint, dust, a speck of something, etc.). If this is the case, you can do away with it by doing a simple cleaning. Rinse your contacts with solution, give it a good rub and pop them back in.
4. Your Contacts Are Cloudy
Do you feel like you're staring through a patch of fog every time you put in your contact lenses? If so, then we're here to tell you that there's something amiss. The only thing contacts should do to your eyes is to allow them to see better. They should not affect them negatively. In fact, you shouldn’t even be aware of them at all!
Cloudy blurriness while wearing contacts means one of two things:
- You have the wrong prescription.
- There’s residue buildup on your contacts.
In the short-term, you should be able to rid your contacts of residue. In the long-term though, as more and more residue builds up, the performance of your contacts will be affected. At this point, the only thing you can do is use fresh lenses.
5. Your Contacts Won't Sit Flush Against Your Eyes
One of the big problems that some people have with their contacts is keeping them in one place. When inserted, contacts are supposed to sit flush over the pupils. But when they're compromised or improperly prescribed, they won’t sit well. Instead, they'll shift up, down, to the left or to the right. They'll affect your vision and cause a good deal of discomfort too.
If you can't get your contacts to stay in one place, you’ll very likely need a new pair. You might even need to see your optometrist and have your eyes retested and refitted for better lenses.
6. Your Contacts Are Bent
Your contacts should look like perfectly-constructed bowls. This is to say that they should maintain perfect symmetry at all angles.
If your contacts are not symmetrical at all angles and instead, are bent in one direction or another, they’re no longer getting the job done. Contact lenses can bend for any number of reasons, from physical trauma to overuse and more. Regardless of the reason for why they're bent, they'll need changing as soon as possible.
7. Your Contacts Make Your Eyes Feel Dry
Dryness is one of the most common problems that contact wearers come across. While you can often fix this problem by applying a saline solution or eye drops, it may not always work. In some cases, the actual lenses themselves are to blame.
Because they're made out of different materials and have varying levels of thickness, some contacts are more prone to causing dry eyes than others. If you suffer from dryness every time you insert them, your lenses are likely the suspect. In other words, there's a good chance that you’ll need new contacts.
I'm Ready to Replace My Contacts
Well, is it time? Do you find yourself murmuring, "Must replace my contacts!" over and over again? If so, PerfectLensWorld has you covered!
We offer contacts of all kinds from a range of well-known and reputable brands. Whether you're looking for daily, weekly or monthly contact lenses, we can accommodate you. Take a look at our selection of contacts right now!
