You wear contact lenses to avoid wearing those oftentimes cumbersome prescription glasses or sometimes have a head-turning eye color, and not to leave you feeling like there’s a scouring pad sitting on each of your eyeballs. If you wear contacts on a regular basis and it tends to irritate your peepers, keep on reading. Below you will come across some of the most common reasons why your contact lenses feel scratchy.

Got contact lens-wearing family members and friends who constantly blink and have red and teary eyes? Then make sure that you repost this article afterwards — it’s for certain that their contact lenses are causing them itchiness and discomfort as well.

There’s Something Under or on Top of Your Contacts

You will surely know if a foreign object is the one that is causing your eyes to feel itchy and irritated. If it’s situated under the contact lens, it can cause irritation of the cornea which is the transparent dome that’s situated directly over your iris and pupil. If the foreign object is on the top of the contact lens, it can irritate the inside part of your eyelid.

What you need to do is remove your contact lenses and rinse your eyes with distilled water for a few times. It’s also a good idea to give your contacts a quick cleaning, too.

You are Using a Lot of or the Wrong Kind of Eye Makeup

Eye makeup is worn to make your eyes pop, and not to make them feel gritty. Sometimes it’s not your contact lenses that can be blamed for that scratchy feeling but your eye makeup. Especially if you like putting on a lot of it, some of the particles may get in your eye. The solution: cut back on eye makeup.

In some instances, the ingredients of your favorite eye makeup may be causing irritation or an allergic reaction. Try opting for a different brand or formulation and see if the switch makes a big difference.

Those Contacts are of the Wrong Size

Most people believe that contact lenses come in a universal size, which means that any pair fits well any pair of eyes. If you are one of those individuals, better think again.

According to eye specialists, it’s very important for you to put on contact lenses that properly fit over your peepers. Otherwise, wearing them can cause issues such as irritation and redness. In some instances, ill-fitting contact lenses may even scratch your cornea, which is something that can cause a lot of discomfort and even light sensitivity.

You’re Wearing Your Contacts for Too Long a Time

Even if you are wearing contact lenses that perfectly fit, it means nothing if you are leaving them in place longer than you should. Especially if you sleep or nap without removing your contact lenses, it’s not unlikely for you to encounter signs and symptoms such as dryness, redness, irritation and scratchiness.

When being prescribed with contact lenses, make sure that you pay attention to and also follow your trusted eye doctor’s instructions on how often or how long you should have your contact lenses worn.

You Have an Allergy and You Wear Contacts

Got an allergy? Then you know by now that coming into contact with allergens such as dust mites, mold, pet dander or pollen can cause your eyes to become red, teary and itchy.

Unfortunately, wearing contact lenses can cause those signs and symptoms to intensify. You have a few options if you want to keep at bay that scratchy feeling due to your contacts. First, momentarily wear prescription glasses. Second, take your allergy medications. Third, steer clear of your known allergens.

If you have tips and tricks on keeping contact lenses from causing a scratchy sensation, feel free to share some of them in the comments section below so that others may give those a try!