One lesson I learnt, from my prolonged red-eyes problems is to consult an eye specialist immediately whenever I have any discomfort in the eyes. Do not see a GP or do your own remedy, like what I did..hahaha.. thinking that I can save the money to pamper myself with a new pair of shoes!

I started having discomfort, ichiness in my eyes more than 3 weeks ago. I bought a sterile saline drop from a phamacy and applied the drops whenever necessary. My eyes were fine after 7 days and I started to wear back the contact lens. 2 days later, the eyes became red and itchy again and the saline drop not only didn’t help but worsened the condition. Then I went to see a GP, he said I had a bad infection, he prescribed an anti-bacterial/anti-imflammatory eye drops and told me to apply for a week. He prescribed some vitamins and anti-histamine but both prescription ended up in my dustbin. I never like to take medicine.

After 5 days, my eyes were ok. Then I stopped applying, but did not wear my contact lens because I wanted to let my eyes have a longer break from contact lens. Then 2 days later, the ichiness and redness came back. I applied back the eye drop and goodness, it stinged and the redness became worse.

The following day, I went to see an eye specialist Dr. Then at ISEC. He did a thorough check and diagnosed me as having Dry Eyes Syndrome. He didn’t find any infection, my corneas and eye pressure are perfect. What a relief! I was preparing for some serious diagnose and in fact, the receptionist at the ISEC told me that a lot of patients went through cornea transplant due to severe problems caused by contact lens. I was told by Dr. Then that as we age, our eyes tend to be less tolerance to contact lens. Cheh.. reminds me that I am not getting any younger. haha.. He advised me to use artificial eye drop and to make sure that I use preservative-free drops which can be applied with contact lens on. Those lubricants with preservative, which are cheaper, tend to irritate the eyes more. 

I did some research myself and found out that certain medication may aggravate the dry eyes. Anti-histamine is one of them. I can’t imagine if I had taken the anti-histamine prescribed by the GP I saw earlier. And the anti-inflammatory eye drop my GP prescribed content steroid! Another cause may be because of contact lens. Although Dr. Then said that all contact lens are basically the same, I somehow feel the difference when I use B & L compare to FreshLook. I feel so much comfortable with FreshLook. My next mission is to source for a good quality contact lens. I am so happy when Dr. Then said that I can wear my contact lens anytime provided I keep my eyes moisture with the eye drop and do not wear for more than 8 hours. I am too vain to do away without contact lens.

Find out more about Dry Eyes Syndrome here.