Contact lenses are a comfortable, durable alternative to wearing glasses. As someone who has been wearing contacts daily for over 20 years, you love how convenient they are as you go through the motions of your day. Lately, however, you notice you are getting headaches more often than usual while wearing your lenses. Headaches caused by contact lenses are not an immediate cause for concern, but there are several reasons why a chat with your optometrist is in order. There are two common medical issues which cause headaches when contacts are worn, so consider whether either of these applies to you.

Presbyopia

Presbyopia is a condition which strikes when you get older. Normally, it is seen in people in their late 30s and early 40s. Once it starts, people who regularly wear contacts notice the onset of regular headaches.

Presbyopia is a condition where you have difficulty seeing things close to you. In particular, reading text on a computer screen or print on a book becomes difficult. This is an interesting occurrence because you are already wearing contact lenses so you can see things which are far away, but now you have an issue seeing things up close as well.

Because of the conflict Presbyopia causes, you need to change the type of contact lenses you wear. There are special lenses made to help those diagnosed with Presbyopia, and they are the contact lenses equivalent of bi-focal glasses. Your optometrist can give you more details about these.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism is generally fixed using glasses, but if the astigmatism is mild enough, it is possible to wear contact lenses and correct this condition. However, if your contact lenses haven't been checked in a while, it is possible they are no longer correcting astigmatism.

If the contact lens is moving even slightly on the eye, this is potentially the cause of your headaches because your eyes are straining to correct the lens movement.

When you notice headaches which occur more than twice a week, an appointment with your optometrist is a must. Only then can you work through diagnosing what is causing the headaches and then changes can be made to stop them from occurring. The solution may be as simple as changing to another type of contact lenses, so don't suffer headaches longer than necessary when an appointment to discuss your eye health will give you the answers that you seek.