Contact lenses in summer

It’s important to look after your eyes during the summer. As well as UV rays, in the summer months your eyes can become affected by hay fever, dry eyes and more. Sunglasses are the obvious way to protect your eyes against UV rays, however, wearing the right contact lenses can also benefit your eyes. Let Vision Express talk you through the benefits of wearing contact lenses this summer.

Hay fever and allergies

Hay fever, pollen and other allergies can cause your eyes to become sore and irritant during summer. Contact lenses can help to relieve the symptoms of hay fever in your eyes.

You can choose to wear either daily disposable or monthly reusable contact lenses. When wearing reusable contact lenses, it’s important to ensure they are clean before they touch your eyes. Pollen deposits can build up on contact lenses. If this is the case when they touch your eyes, they can cause irritation and redness.

Daily disposable contact lenses are also ideal for hay fever sufferers. As they are discarded daily, this reduces the chances of pollen deposits building up on the lenses and irritating your eyes.

If you feel like your eyes are irritant due to hay fever and you are wearing contact lenses, taking them out can help. It could be that pollen is on the lens and touching your eye. Either using a new disposable or cleaning reusables can help to relieve the symptoms.

Other ways to help prevent and relieve hay fever symptoms include taking antihistamines and eye drops. There are eye drops specifically made for preventing hay fever symptoms for your eyes, however any kind can help to soothe your eyes and relieve irritation and redness.

UV rays

When it comes to protecting your eyes from UV rays, sunglasses are the go-to method. However, contact lenses with UV protection also protect your eyes from harmful UV rays. Sunglasses can also be worn over normal, or UV protection contact lenses for extra protection.

If you don’t own prescription sunglasses, wearing contact lenses underneath normal sunglasses helps you to see clearly and protect your eyes.

Dry eyes

Dry eyes is a common eye condition which can affect us all year round. There are many potential causes in summertime, some of them which you wouldn’t expect.

Air conditioning in your car or office may feel like a god send in hot weather, however, it can cause dry eyes and irritation. This is because it makes your tears evaporate faster, drying out your eyes.

Dry climates and hot places with low humidity can also cause dry eyes, as well as harsh sunlight. In dry climates, our eyes produce less tears, causing them to become dryer. In these climates, the tears your eyes produce also evaporate quicker.

Even BBQ season can be harmful to your eyes. Particles from the smoke can make your eyes dry, irritated and red.

The chlorine and other chemicals in swimming pool water can wash away your tear film. This film is a mixture of oil, water and mucus which keeps your eyes moist and hydrated. Surprisingly, salt water from the ocean is less harmful to your eyes than pool water, even though it stings more. Unfortunately, you cannot wear contact lenses when swimming. Bacteria from water can get between your eye and the contact lens, causing irritation and potentially an eye infection. Prescription swimming goggles are an ideal solution if you’d like to swim, but struggle to see clearly.

If you do suffer from dry eyes due to any of the above reasons, you can buy special contact lenses which help to relieve and prevent the symptoms of dry eyes. These contact lenses help to retain moisture in your eyes and absorb more oxygen, leaving them feeling hydrated, soothed and nourished. You can also use eye drops to moisturise your eyes when wearing contact lenses.

We have plenty of contact lenses for you to help protect your eyes in summer. Whether you suffer from hay fever, dry eyes or you’d like to protect your eyes from UV rays without wearing sunglasses, we’ve got your covered. You can view our contact lens range online or talk to us in store. We can also give you an eye test to make sure your prescription is correct.

Shop contact lenses Back to contact lens tips