Unless you have some underlying eye diseases, a properly fitted and prescribed contact lens should fit comfortably in the eyes. But in a case when the lenses feel uncomfortable even though your eyes are perfectly healthy, the problem could be that of a defective lens. If this happens because you are trying out a new brand or type of contact lenses, seek the advice of your doctor before continuing to use the lenses. The new brand could have a different fit, curvature and thickness, which may not agree with your eyes. If contact lens discomfort is suddenly apparent when wearing the same pair of lenses you've been using, the lens may have developed tears, nicks or scratches. Form a good habit of handling your lenses with care as it helps extend the life of a lens.

Sometimes the problem is not being able to wear the lenses for as long as you would like. Again, it could be the matter of using the wrong type of lenses. If this problem crops up suddenly even with lenses you've been using all this while, it could be an external cause like a high pollen count or poor air humidity. If you find yourself not being able to use your lenses as long as you previously were able to, then the lens may have accumulated protein deposits. If this is the case, replace your lenses with a fresh pair.

The eyes get red and itchy, and in some cases, vision becomes poor. It is thought that the cause of this problem is the immune reaction to the wearing of contact lenses or to the material, it is made of. The wearing of contact lenses should be suspended or reduced until the problem has gone away. In many cases, steroids may be temporarily prescribed.

The eyes get red and painful, discharge is present and sometimes, vision is reduced or poor. On occasion, the sufferer may observe a white spot on the cornea of the infected eye.

This is a dreaded complication of contact lens wear – a bacterial infection of the cornea, nearly always caused by bacteria. Treatment of corneal ulceration usually involves antibiotic eye drops.

If your eyes are constantly red when your lenses are in your eyes, and if you suffer difficulty and discomfort when wearing them, you could be hypersensitive to the solution you're using to store, clean or rinse your lenses. If you've recently switched brands, the new solution could be the cause of the problem. Try using a preservative–free solution or a solution containing a different preservative.

Contact lenses are more effective in the correcting of some vision problems than others. Nearsightedness and farsightedness, for example, are easier to correct using contact lenses. Astigmatism, on the other hand, is a little trickier. Hard lenses may be prescribed in favour of soft lenses in some cases. It is not uncommon for some contact lens wearers to experience the vision of halos around lights at night and sometimes even 'ghostly' images in their sight. This is likely to be caused by the pupils being more dilated (and thus larger) than the optical are of the soft lens. If you see a rainbow around lights, it is possibly an indication of some swelling of the cornea and is a sign that the lenses have been worn for too long and should be removed.

First off, never try to 'cheat' on your contact lenses. If you wear daily lenses, change to a fresh pair each morning. If you use bi–weeklies, throw your old pair away after every two weeks. If you wear monthlies, make it a point to replace them at the end of each monthly cycle.

Daily contact lenses are a more hygienic option. So is your eyes are prone to problems, ask your doctor if dailies are a good solution for your problems.

Wear your glasses and skip the contact lenses till the problem clears up. Contact lenses are in constant contact with your eyes, so give your eyes a break to recover.

Practise personal hygiene. No sharing of lenses, use only clean fingers to handle lenses and avoid the use of messy powder eye shadows that may fall into your eyes and aggravate the problem!