Ryan wrote:
Hi,

I have tried for years to wear toric soft contact lenses.  Each and every time I am fitted, I wear the trials for a week and they are great.  I order them and, without fail, about a week into wearing them full-time my right eye becomes more and more sensitive to the point where I have to remove the lens.  Left eye has always been great.

First the lower eyelid becomes sore, then the upper eyelid and eventually the entire eye.  It’s not a sharp, searing pain but more a dull annoyance.  It’s a residual feeling for about a week after I remove it.

Am I lost hope for contacts?  I got a LASIK consultation but apparently my astigmatism of off-centered so the docs wouldn’t touch me.

Thanks in advance,
Ryan

ANSWER

Without examining your eye directly this is difficult to answer.  However, I would suggest that your Optometrist try a rigid lens - a Gas Permeable one.

Dr. Joan Hansen, Optometrist for CAO

Milen wrote:
I am 30 years old and I have been wearing glasses for about 15 years.
Recently I broke my old spectacles and bought a pair of new ones - almost identical frame as the previous one (thin titanium) just a smaller lenses.
It’s been two weeks with the new glasses and I experience pain in both my eyes as if I got a constant muscle strain. The prescription is exactly the same as the old ones. I have been going back to the optometrist two times - the first time she changed the alignment/fitting of the frame which seemed to help a bit but I still got the hurt in the eyes. The second time she adjusted them again thus making it worse! We tested the eyes and the lenses thoroughly but they are perfectly OK (same numbers). The optometrist is completely out of clue! What could be the reason for the pain and is it possible to damage my eyes in the long run?

ANSWER

Milen,
The fact that a change in the fitting of the frame can increase or decrease your symptoms is indicative of optical distortions caused by your new glasses. One of the causes of such a problem could be a change in the curvature of the anterior surface of the glasses (called base curve of the lens). Even if the numbers of the prescription are the same, a curve that is (often-times) flatter than the older one will create optical distortion than can induce your symptoms. The change of a base curve is made when it is determined by the manufacturing lab, considering the shape, the size and the profile of your frame, that the older one is not appropriate. Keeping the old one will lead to producing lenses that will be too thick or will be difficult to cut and edge to fit in the frame). Another possibility is that one of the lens was cut and edged too tight (or large) for the frame. Once inserted, a too tight lens will be compressed and optical distortions can occur from this.

During the manufacturing process, some waves can also be induced. If they do not affect the center of the lenses, they cannot be detected by the reading of their power.
There are no long term effects of these problems. This is discomfort coming from optical distortions. Once the glasses are removed, the eyes remain in perfect shape. If you continue to wear defective glasses, however, discomfort will continue and may cause headaches and malaise but it’s nothing irreversible.

Many thanks for this interesting question,
Langis Michaud
Associate professor – U de Montréal

April wrote:

I have had a pain in my eye for 5 days. Just in the right eye when I move it up/down/left or right. Is this just a migraine in the eye?

ANSWER

Migraines do not happen in the eye.  It is important to have symptoms such as this checked by your eye doctor right away.  Most Doctors will see you within a day or two when you have symptoms such as this.

Dr. Joan Hansen, Optometrist for CAO

Karen wrote:
Is it common for the axis to change significantly from one eyeglass prescription to the next?  I recently received a new prescription (not because I couldn’t see well with existing lenses, but because I wanted to update frames).  Despite trying two different types of lenses with the new prescription, I experience increasing eyestrain the more I wear them to the point I can barely stand keeping my eyes open.  The left eye in particular feels like the muscles inside are twisted/tense, and I get stabbing pains and a constant tired ache.

The axis numbers on my old (comfortable) prescription are:  OD 15, OS 140. The axis numbers on my new (painful) prescription are:  OD 108, OS 052

It almost seems to me these numbers have been accidentally swapped.  Would looking through lenses with incorrect axis cause the many symptoms of unaccustomed and almost unbearable eyestrain I’m experiencing?

ANSWER

Karen,

A huge change in axis would cause discomfort.  However, there are two different ways of writing a prescription when it has axis, and these differences will make the axis seem VERY different.  Was it the same doctor who wrote the two prescriptions?  Does  one prescription have the cylinder lens as a (-) lens and the other as a (+) lens??   If you could give me some more information, it would help tremendously.  Otherwise go back to your doctor and ask for more details and also outline the problems you are having.

Dr. Joan Hansen, Optometrist for CAO

Celeste wrote:

My 12 year old daughter started with eye pain mid last year, the pain wasn’t as often as it is now. The optometrist said the glasses would help which I got her last year, her regular doctor and said it was probably stress related. I need to know what is going on, the glasses didn’t help now she gets the pain daily, it feels like someone stuck a knife in the back of her eye, a stabbing pain, it comes and goes and she takes pain medicine daily. I would hate to be her living with the pain. It seems to hurt when reading, playing, or TV, anything can trigger it and any time of day it seems.

ANSWER

Hi Celeste,

It sounds like your daughter is really affected by the pain in her eyes.  If you haven’t already I would recommend returning to your optometrist to explain the extent of the pain and how much it is bothering your daughter, especially where it has continued for such a long period of time.  She may need a referral to a neuro-ophthalmologist. Depending on where you live your optometrist may be able to do this or your family doctor may need to make the referral. It sounds like this should be looked at further to try and find a cause and determine what the best course of treatment might be.

Dr. Doman

Umer wrote:

Hi,

I have been experiencing mild left eye pain for a week now. I have been up late hours due to my academic tests. My pain come and does frequently during the day. It goes away for a while when I wash my face with cold water.

I looked at my eye and it’s perfectly normal. I don’t have blurry vision and no redness in my eye. Its a internal pain around my eye.

Hope I can get some suggestions.

Thanks

ANSWER

Dear Umer,

There can be a number of causes that could cause your symptoms. Because they seem to be aggravated by your long days of study, you might just be experiencing fatigue that will dissipate once your life gets back to normal. It is also possible that you have a small muscle imbalance that makes it difficult for you to keep your eyes aligned comfortably for hours of study. Your optometrist could examine your eyes to determine if that is a contributing factor. Also, as you describe your discomfort as an internal pain around the eyes, it is possible that you have a sinus inflammation that is causing your symptoms. In my experience, many patients who complain of a pain around and behind the eye actually have healthy eyes but inflamed sinuses. In any case, it would probably be worthwhile to have a thorough eye examination to rule out any contributing ocular factors.

Dr. Henry Smit

Xuanhai wrote:

For the last several months, I have a burning sensation on both of my eyes after wearing my prescription glasses for 3 or more hours. Wearing contact lens, I do not have this problem. But I cannot wear contact lens all day long. What is my problem?

Thank you.

ANSWER

Xuanhai,

Thank you for your question.  I would suggest that you have your Optometrist check your eyes both for health concerns / dry eye concerns, and for a possible change in prescription.  You are correct that it is not advisable to wear contact lenses all day long, but I cannot answer what is wrong without examining your eyes.

Dr. Joan Hansen    Optometrist
for CAO

Mary wrote:

I had a headache for a couple of days. Then I felt something rupture in my eye and my eye was very red and very painful. I went to the E.R. and they said it was pink eye. I completely disagree. What is it?

ANSWER

Dear Mary,

Many elements are missing to make an appropriate diagnosis but I am quite sure that we are talking here about a systemic disease with an ocular involvement. Some viruses can create headache, dull and aching pain, malaise and a red eye. A severe cold could end with these features. More concerning, inflammation of the eye (uveitis) can cause similar symptoms. It is surely not a simple pink eye (conjunctivitis) as you mentioned. My advice would be to consult your optometrist ASAP to rule out what is happening.

Good luck,
Langis Michaud

Manpreet wrote:

I am writing for a 3 year old who has been complaining of eye pain in both eyes, but more in the right eye. The pain lasts for few seconds and then goes away. He likes a wash cloth, as it comforts him. His eyes are normal, but had a mucous discharge for few weeks which went away with time.

Please advise.

ANSWER

Dear Manpreet,

This condition presents the symptoms of ocular dryness. That can happen in challenging environments (rugs in the room, heating, ventilation, dust, wind with particles, etc). Wash cloth provides comfort by cooling down the ocular surface and “rewetting” it. To address that, you have to act on 2 sides at the same time: control the environmental conditions (alleviate exposure to smoke, dust, etc. If possible remove the rugs from his room or the play room. Allow fresh air exchange in the house and limit heating. Dust on heating units should be removed as well.) For the eye, instill artificial tears (without preservative agent) at least 3-4 times a day when the child is symptomatic. The best agent is BionTears (Alcon) or Refresh (unidose) from Allergan. Consult your optometrist if symptoms last for a few weeks after this or if the eye becomes red.

Good luck,
Langis Michaud

Lisa Anderson wrote:

I have a pain in my left eye that feels like someone stuck a golf tee through my eyelid. I’ve been to my optometrist; he can’t explain it as my eyes appear otherwise healthy. Have you ever heard of anything like this before?

ANSWER

Dear Lisa,
Patients often describe visual discomfort and pain with original adjectives and metaphors. I can honestly say I have never had anyone report eye pain in this particular manner. However, your description leads me to believe that the pain must be very significant and disturbing. It is quite possible that the source of the pain was not evident during the course of your initial examination, but it may become apparent at a subsequent evaluation. I would suggest that you ask your optometrist to take another look, and if the underlying problem remains unidentified, that you ask him/her to make a referral to another health care practitioner so that your symptoms can be investigated further. Sometimes two heads are better than one!

Best of luck
Dr. Henry Smit