Ophthalmologist Questions Ophthalmologist

Can I use eye drops with contacts in?

I am a 24 year old female. I wear contacts and have dry eyes. Can I use eye drops with contacts in?

9 Answers

You should remove your contact lenses before using any drops.
Preservative free artificial tears are best to use
It is safe to put in over-the-counter artificial tears in with contacts, but there are specific rewetting contact lens drops that you may prefer.

Frank Cao
You can safely use Blink lubricating drops with contacts in. If you have dry eyes, limit your contact lens wear to 6-8 hours.Then wear glasses.
Yes, you can certainly use lubricant eye drops while you have your contacts in your eye. Make sure to keep proper contact lens hygiene, washing hands before placing lenses in your eyes, and absolutely never sleeping with your contact lenses on (even if your contacts say extended wear), no sleeping in contacts.
Yes, but only certain eye drops. For dry eyes, "re-wetting drops" are made to be used with contact lenses to re-hydrate the eyes. Artificial tear drops and ointments usually contain methylcellulose or a similar agent to slow down evaporation of the water component of tears. When used with contact lenses in place, methylcellulose will adhere to the surface of the contact lens and blur vision. Cleaning is difficult and usually the contact lens ends up being discarded.
Yes, I recommend preservative- free artificial tears with low viscosity such as Refresh Plus or Theratears
Lubricating drops for contacts are available in several different brands. Look for the description of contact lens rewetting drops as opposed to artificial tears as they have more of an oil makeup for some and would cause your lenses to get filmy.
Yes,if without preservatives