• Contact lenses can sometimes bother or irritate the eye.contact lens image by vladislav susoy from Fotolia.com
  
  Contact lenses provide an invisible corrective option for millions of people. However, not all contacts are created equal and they often can cause some minor discomfort when using them if they become damaged in any way. Remember to keep your contacts clean and safe and to follow your doctor's instructions regarding their use. Further, replace your contacts on a regular basis to maintain the health of your eyes.
  
  

Dryness

• Most contact lens users experience occasional dryness with their lenses. Your contacts can become dry from wearing them too often, as a side effect from some medications, or this is your eye's natural response to having contacts in it. Overindulgence or sensitivity to alcohol or caffeine can also cause contacts to dry at a faster rate. Consult your doctor and use the over-the-counter eyedrops that she recommends to alleviate this occasional problem. If dryness is constant, consult your physician, as you may be suffering from dry eye syndrome.
  
  

Smoke

• Soft contact lenses can easily absorb the fumes created by smoking, says the University of Iowa Health Care website. This can cause cloudiness in vision and irritation in the eye. It can further aggravate feelings of dryness that can foster further eye discomfort. Individuals with reusable contacts should avoid smoking when they are wearing their contacts to avoid buildup and damage to the lenses.
  
  

Contamination

• Contact lenses can become contaminated with foreign substances, such as soaps, lotions, cosmetics, and oils. This buildup can warp the shape of the contact lenses or make them cloudy. Further, contact lenses with contaminants that come into contact with the eye can cause irritation, redness, or burning when you put them in. If you are reusing contact lenses, make sure to clean them between each use to avoid buildup of these pollutants.
  
  

Environmental Factors

• If you work or spend long periods of time in environments that are dry and hot or extremely dusty, exposure to this environment may cause drying or pollutants to more easily come between your eyes and the contact lenses, which in turn irritates your eyes, according to All About Vision. To avoid discomfort, clean your lenses more often or wear protective goggles to minimize your eye's exposure to these pollutants.
  
  

Eye Irritation or Infection

• If at any point your eyes become infected or irritated, avoid using contact lenses. Not only will the use of contacts be painful, but it may cause exacerbate the problem your eyes are experiencing. Contact lenses exposed to infections in the eye become disease vectors. As soon as you put the contact lenses back into healthy eyes, they will become infected again. Discontinue use of your contacts until the problem clears up or a physician gives you the go ahead to resume their use.