Possible Problems With Contact Lenses: Blood Vessel Growth

If you are a contact lens wearer or if you are considering buying contact lenses, you need to understand that there can be some potential problems associated with contact lenses, you will be in a far better position to determine if contact lenses are the right choice for you.

Abnormal Blood Vessel Growth

Contact lens wear can cause abnormal growth of the blood vessels around the cornea (corneal neovascularization). This is often caused by contact lenses that have low permeability. Permeability is the ability of gases, specifically oxygen, to pass through a barrier. Soft contacts are typical culprits in abnormal blood vessel growth, as they reduce the oxygen that can get to the cornea.

Restrict Oxygen and Its Impact on Your Eye

As a result of restricted oxygen, the cornea suffers from chronic hypoxia, and responds by growing new blood vessels to make up for the lack of oxygen. While this problem can often be solved by changing the lens material-perhaps moving to a rigid gas permeable lens-sometimes the wearer must stop wearing contact lenses completely and either wear eyeglasses or turn to laser eye surgery.

Buying Online Contact Lens Products

 Sometimes people purchase contact lenses over the internet without a prescription, such as decorative or special effects contact lenses. Because they are not dispensed or prescribed by a professional, they may not be a good fit for a particular person. These contact lenses have been known to cause such problems as corneal neovascularization due at least in part to the lack of monitoring by a professional eye care specialist.

Wearing Your Contact Lenses for Too Long

Although most lenses do prevent oxygen from reaching the eye to some degree, lenses that are worn for long periods of time, more than ten hours per day, create the greatest risk. Often switching to the new silicon hydrogel lenses will rectify the problem over time, but a period without contact lenses may be necessary.

Symptoms of Abnormal Blood Vessel Growth

Additional symptoms of abnormal blood vessel growth are pain, excessive tearing, light sensitivity, contact lens sensitivity, redness around the cornea, and even vision problems.

Contact Your Eye Doctor or Physician Immediately

If you have recently purchased contact lenses and are having these problems, you should contact your physician immediately. They could be symptoms of abnormal blood vessel growth or other abnormalities of the eye. Any one of these could indicate a problem, so if you experience one or many, contact your eye doctor right away and have your contact lenses checked.

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