Can You Use Visine with Contacts? Is It Safe?

Can you use Visine with contacts in? Visine is one of the most popular eye drop brands. If you have contact lenses in, is it say to use Visine? In this article, I will describe the type of Visine eye drops to use with contacts and how to properly use them.

Can you use Visine eye drops with contacts in? You can use Visine while wearing contacts if you use the right type of Visine product. Visine has a product called “Visine for Contacts Rewetting Drops,” which is specially formulated for contact lens users. It works as a lubricant that hydrates both the contact lenses and the eyes.

Regular Visine eye drops are not safe to use with contact lenses as they can discolor the contacts and cause more eye irritation. Only use “Visine for Contacts Rewetting Drops” or other eye drops that are specially formulated for contacts.

If you cannot get the Visine for Contacts product and only have the regular Visine, remove your contacts before using the drops. You may put the contacts in after 30 minutes of using the eye drops.

Read on to learn more about using Visine with contacts, including tips for using it safely.

Can You Use Visine with Contacts?

Visine, made by Johnson & Johnson, is a popular eye drop brand. They are known for their tagline, “Gets the red out in 60 seconds.” Their most popular product is the one that contains tetrahydrozoline HCL. It is a medicine that treats redness in the eyes caused by minor irritations like dust, chlorinated water, and smoke. 

Do not use Visine with tetrahydrozoline if you have contact lenses in. It may contain a substance (used as a preservative) that may discolor contact lenses. If you have tired, itchy, irritated eyes and need to use the product, take off your contacts before using it. You’ll also need to wait 20 to 30 minutes before you can put them back in.

Basically, contact lens users are looking for eye drops that will lubricate their eyes while wearing them. It’s uncomfortable and sometimes painful to have your contacts dry out while you are wearing them. It can also damage your eyes. For this purpose, you do not need drops with tetrahydrozoline content.

Visine Eye Drops for Contacts

If you need eye drops to lubricate and rewet your contacts while you’re wearing them, Visine has a special product for that. The Visine For Contacts Rewetting Drops is made especially for contact lens users. It’s designed to meet the needs of contact lens users and lessen their discomfort. 

Visine For Contacts Rewetting Drops moistens the eyes while refreshing them. It will work with daily wear soft lenses and extended wear soft lenses. Moreover, it is guaranteed thimerosal-free. Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative. It doesn’t contain tetrahydrozoline and is safe to use while wearing contact lenses. 

Visine For Contacts can be used daily, as needed, for lubricating your eyes while you wear your contact lenses. You can store it at room temperature. Also, use the contents of the bottle before the expiration date. Make sure that the tip of the dropper does not touch any surface to avoid contamination. Ensure that both of your hands are clean before handling the eye drops, too.

Remember that you cannot use Visine with tetrahydrozoline while wearing your contacts. You can only use Visine For Contacts Rewetting Drops when you’re wearing contact lenses.

What Are the Eye Drops from Visine?

Visine has several kinds of eye drops to help ease a variety of symptoms. All Visine variants are available over the counter.

1. Visine Original

The company is best known for this eye drop variant. This product works best for minor eye redness due to mild irritants, such as smoke, dust, smog, TV viewing, lack of sleep, and swimming.

2. Visine Advance Triple Action Red Eye

This variant works by getting the red out like the Visine Original, except that it has a lubricant to refresh the eyes. It also works as a decongestant that quickly gets eye redness out.

3. Visine for Red Eye Workplace

This Visine product focuses on eye irritation that happens in the workplace. Too much screen time, too much reading, dry air from the air conditioning, and dust are all irritants you can get in your workplace. This Visine product provides fast relief from redness, and at the same time, hydrates tired, stinging eyes.

4. Visine for Dry Eye

This Visine product is for dry, burning, irritated eyes. Dry eyes happen when your tears are not enough to lubricate your eyes. It can be from strong, dry air from an air conditioning unit or the weather. This product quickly lubricates and soothes dry eyes.

5. Visine for Dry Eye Environmental Relief

This Visine product focuses on environmental causes (e.g., wind, dust, or pollution) that trigger dry eyes. It contains no vasoconstrictors or the preservative benzalkonium chloride. Moreover, it works immediately by lubricating the eyes to soothe them from stinging and burning sensations.

6. Visine Eye Revival

This Visine eye product revives dry eyes by hydrating, soothing, and cooling your dry, tired eyes. It has a lubricant that quickly treats dry eyes. This product is safe to use, even if you are wearing soft contact lenses.

It also hydrates the contact lenses while providing a barrier between the eyelid and the contact lenses. It doesn’t contain the preservative benzalkonium chloride.

7. Visine Seasonal Relief

This Visine product helps give relief to itchy, red, sticky eyes due to allergies. It helps reduce symptoms from the common cold, pollen allergies, and dust allergies. This product contains zinc sulfate, which helps clear excess mucus from the outer surface of the eyes. It also contains a decongestant to help relieve redness and itchiness.

8. Visine Advance with Antihistamine Allergy

This Visine product has an antihistamine (pheniramine maleate) and decongestant component. Such a combination of ingredients relieves itching and redness caused by allergies. Moreover, it combats allergies triggered by pollen, dust mites, grass, dander, ragweed, and mold.

9. Visine for Contacts Rewetting Drops

This Visine product is 100 percent safe to use with contact lenses. It moistens and hydrates soft contact lenses while refreshing the eyes. Moreover, it’s safe to use as often as needed and works with any soft contact lenses.

Tips for Using Eye Drops for Contact Lenses

• Always wash and dry your hands before using your eye drops. Your hands may be harboring germs that may contaminate your eyes.

• Make sure that the tip of the eye drop bottle will not touch your eyes, hands, or other surfaces. Doing so may also cause contamination. 

• Whether you’re lying down, standing up, or sitting down, tilt your head back and pull down just below your lower lid. Try to form a pocket to catch the drops. 

• Look up and squeeze the eye drop bottle, letting one drop fall at a time. Try not to blink or wipe your eye. This way, the drop disperses faster in your eye.

• Keep your eye open for about a few seconds and then close it for about 30 to 40 seconds. 

• If you have problems getting the drops in your eyes, you may try this trick. With you lying down, turn your head to one side and close your eye. Place a drop in your eye’s innermost corner (the side where your nose bridge is) and then open your eye. The drop should fall inside your eye after opening it.

We’ve answered the question, “can you use Visine with contacts in?”; next, let’s look at the different types of eye drop products.

Types of Eye Drops and How to Use Them 

There are so many eye drops out there, and many of them are available over the counter. It can really be very confusing which one to get. Well, first, identify your need. Is it for irritation? Perhaps you have runny, watery eyes caused by allergies?

Contact Lens Eye Drops

The purpose of these drops is to mainly lubricate your eyes and hydrate your contact lenses while you wear them. They are also called rewetting drops. You can use this type for soft contact lenses to feel more comfortable while wearing them.

They are usually safe to use as often as needed. Many eye doctors actually urge people who wear contacts to use these drops as often as they can. These eye drops help clear out any debris caught under the lenses.

Eye Drops for Red, Itchy Eyes

These eye drops are usually the ones that contain tetrahydrozoline. They are vasoconstrictors, meaning they make the very tiny vessels in your eye shrink to take away the redness.

Never use these eye drops while you have your contact lenses on. They could cause rebound redness if used with contact lenses, making your eyes look bloodshot, which takes longer to go away.

Eye drops with tetrahydrozoline content may also ruin your contact lenses. If you need to use these drops, take off your contacts first before use. You may put your contact lenses back in after 30 minutes.

Eye Drops for Dry Eyes

Dry eyes happen when your tears cannot provide enough lubrication for your eyes. You may feel your eyes burn or sting when you have dry eyes. These eye drops are also called artificial tears. You can use some of these eye drops along with your contact lenses. Check the label and look for the ones that say they are safe to use for contact lenses.

Medicated Eye Drops

These eye drops are often only available with a prescription. They’re used for eye infections or eye injuries, so most of them can’t be used with contact lenses. Avoid using your contacts when you’ve been prescribed medicated eye drops. Take a break from using your contacts while you’re on the medicated drops.

If you want to use a particular eye drop but are unsure if it’s safe for contact lenses, remove your contacts first before usage. And if you have the following symptoms, avoid wearing contacts for a while and give your eyes a rest.

• Constantly irritated, red eyes
• Light sensitivity
• Pain in the eye area and around the eyes
• Watery eyes with discharge
• Blurry vision that occurs suddenly

It’s always best to consult an eye care professional if your symptoms persist. 

Conclusion – Can You Use Visine Eye Drops with Contacts In? 

So, can you use Visine with contacts? You can use Visine with contacts if you use the Visine for Contacts Rewetting Drops or the Visine Eye Revival.

The Visine for Contacts Rewetting Drops is specifically created for contact lens users to lubricate, hydrate, and refresh their eyes while wearing contact lenses.

Other Visine eye drops may be used to relieve symptoms, provided you take off your contact lenses before using them. You can wear your contacts again after 30 minutes of using the drops.