If you wear contact lenses for vision correction, allergy season can be a difficult time of year. While your first thought may be to transition to eyeglasses, there are steps you can take to improve your comfort when allergen rates are high. Here, the eye doctors at West Valley Vision Center in Fairbanks, AK, discuss everything you need to know about contact lenses and allergies.

Preventative Measures

Taking preventative measures to reduce your exposure to allergens will help ease some of the common symptoms. Wash your hands with soap and water throughout the day, and avoid touching or rubbing your eyes. You should also keep the windows and doors in your home shut, especially on days when the pollen count peaks. This can cut down on allergens entering your home.

Contact Lens Care

While it’s crucial to practice proper care for your contact lenses all year, you should clean and disinfect them often during allergy season. This is because allergens tend to cling to the surfaces of the contact lenses and build up over time, which prevents you from finding relief.

Types of Lenses

If you wear weekly or monthly lenses, it may be difficult to fully remove the allergens from your lenses. Instead, ask your eye doctor about switching to daily contact lenses. This allows you to start each day with a fresh pair and cuts down on the amount of time you need to spend cleaning them.  

When it’s time for your annual contact lens fitting, it’s important to have an eye doctor you can turn to for comprehensive care. The caring staff at West Valley Vision Center in Fairbanks, AK, provide various services, from eye exams and glasses fittings to LASIK eye surgery. Give them a call today at (907) 479-4700 or visit their website for more information about their full range of services.