According to my 3 and 4 year old daughters, “The cold never bothered me anyway!”, but I think we are all happy to say goodbye to snow and hello to spring! As your question implies, spring weather also means spring allergy season. Here are 3 ways you can prepare your eyes:
- Proactively take an allergy eye drop (even if you already take an oral medication). I recommend Pataday once a day, Pataday twice daily, or Alaway for over the counter options, or stop in and we can prescribe a drop to stop red, watery, itchy eyes.
- Switch to a daily disposable contact lens. Contact lenses are sponges for debris and allergens in the air and can make your allergies worse. Daily lenses let you have a fresh new lens every day. We have options for everyone (astigmatism, multifocal, or just regular spherical lenses). Some patients only wear the daily lenses during allergy season and their regular contacts the rest of the year.
- Hygiene matters! Although this is crucial for any contact lens wearer year round, it is exacerbated during allergy season. This includes cleaning your hair and face routinely (especially your lids and lashes), and cleaning your pillow case often. These all can reduce exposure to allergens and make contact lenses more tolerable.
These are just 3 of many options to keep your eyes happy and healthy this spring!