My eyes are dry and irritated when I wake up in the morning. Before I decide to go to the eye doctor is there?

anything anyone can recommend over the counter that I can buy at CVS that will help relieve my eyes??

Old contacts and cold air I believe have contributed to my dilemma. The contacts are old and I only put them on for a few minutes the other day and the next day thats when the dryness began to occur......its only been 2 days....only for a few hours in the mornings does the irritation persist. After my eyes feel fine......

Old contacts that weren't really clean could cause this issue as you stated, cold, dry air is also a culprit. There may have been dust or something on the lens that has scratched the eye's surface without you realizing it. That's really painful and will clear up on it's own within a day or two, wear your glasses and try again with a new pair of contacts to see if it goes a little better the next time around. If you are sleeping perhaps with a fan directly near you it will only add to the pain you're feeling.

The irritation persists for only a few hours because the eyes make enough natural tears to lubricate the eyes.

I'd suggest some visine that clears up redness, it provides a lubricant to the eye's surface.

My personal experience with this is I have tried to sleep with my contacts on and that created a plethora of problems for me. Also I am one of those who's eyelids tend to open a bit when I'm in a deep sleep, that also contributes to the dryness and irritation.

Hope you feel better!