Contact Lenses

This morning, I saw a patient who came to our office complaining of discomfort, itching, and irritated eyes. She said she had done nothing different with her two-week soft contact lenses over the past three years. Her lenses were fogging up and would dry out after a few hours of wear. Upon examination, slit lamp biomicroscopy showed Grade 3 giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC) in both eyes. Her lenses were moving excessively. Naturally, I assumed that this patient was non-compliant in her lens care. Doctors have been dealing with compliance issues with contact lenses since they were invented.

Alcon has released a compliance kit will help eyecare professionals educate their patients on how to take care of their contact lenses while also providing consumers with a clear doctor recommendation.

A recent report from BCC Research, a publisher of technology market research reports, projects the contact lens market to grow from $18.9 billion in 2013 to $20.1 billion by 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 1.2 percent over the five-year period.

During the American Optometric Association’s Optometry’s Meeting, Mile Brujic, OD, moderated a debate on contact lenses among Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, David Kading, OD, FAAO, and Jack Schaeffer, OD, FAAO. Topics ranged from lenses from lens discomfort to mitigation of microbial keratitis to the use of daily disposable lenses.

Alcon announced the launch of its Air Optix Colors silicone hydrogel color contact lenses at the American Optometric Association’s Optometry’s Meeting.

Baush + Lomb announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued marketing clearance for Biotrue ONEday for Presbyopia (nesofilcon A) soft (hydrophilic) daily disposable multifocal contact lenses at the American Optometric Association’s Optometry’s Meeting.

Tom Quinn, OD, FAAO, and Shalu Pal, OD, FAAO, discussed the contact lens market at the American Optometric Association’s Optometry’s Meeting.

Philadelphia-Johnson & Johnson Vision Care announced its plans to discontinue the Acuvue Advance brand contact lenses next year, and also announced the availability of a six-month supply pack of Acuvue Oasys at the American Optometric Association Meeting 2014.

According to research presented at the 2014 British Contact Lens Association Clinical Conference, found the coefficient of friction of the 1-Day Acuvue TruEeye and Acuvue Oasys brand contact lenses were comparable to that of the human cornea.

The British Contact Lens Association recently welcomed Susan Bowers as its president for 2014-15. The new president elect is Brian Tompkins.

Recently, the Ophthalmic Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met to discuss recommendations for guidance documents for contact lenses and care solutions.

The treatment choices presented to presbyopic patients will depend on many factors, including lifestyle, profession, general attitude toward vision, and levels of disposable income. The first step is ascertaining which two of the three visual acuities are most important to them: near, intermediate, or distance vision. For example, you probably wouldn't recommend a multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) to a professional airline pilot because those lenses may compromise nighttime distance vision.

Anxiously anticipating building my patient base, I did a very interesting exercise before I started practicing optometry in 1978. I sat down and made a list of all the things I disliked about going to my current doctors’ office visits, including my internist, dentist, and orthopedic surgeons. I didn't critique my optometrist because my father is my optometrist, and this was not a therapy session.

A year-long study of 1-Day Acuvue TruEye and 1-Day Acuvue Moist brands designed to observe “real-life” contact lens wear found that subjects who wore 1-Day Acuvue Moist reported low incidence of adverse events.

Alcon has introduced eye2eye, a new app that features a contact lens finder that helps eyecare professionals identify Alcon contact lens products for their patients and can also help ECPs successfully fit potential multifocal and toric contact lens wearers in less time.

When asked which is the safest mode of contact lens wear, most doctors reply, “daily disposables.” When asked which is the most convenient mode of lens wear, most doctors reply, “daily disposables.” When asked which is the most comfortable mode of lens wear, most doctors reply, “daily disposables.”

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have designed a contact lens that can release controlled amounts of a glaucoma drug, delivering more consistent dosages of the drug than eye drops.

During the Global Contact Lens Forum, a partnership between Vision Expo East and the British Contact Lens Association, Shelly Bansal, FBDO, Hon CL,FBCLA; Jason Jedlicka, OD, FAAO; and Alan Glazier, OD, FAAO; discussed the current state of contact lens retail and how the industry may evolve in the near future.

During the Global Contact Lens Forum, a partnership between Vision Expo East and the British Contact Lens Association, Lyndon Jones, PhD, FCOptom, FAAO, explored the factors of contact lens discomfort.

During the During the Global Contact Lens Forum, a partnership between Vision Expo East and the British Contact Lens Association, Milton Hom, OD, FAAO; Nick Rumney, MScO, FCO, FAAO; and Michael Ward, MMSC, FAAO; discussed how the interaction between the contact lens and the ocular system affects contact lens success.

ring the Contact Lens Global Forum, a partnership between Vision Expo East and the British Contact Lens Association, David Kading, OD, FAAO, Shelly Bansal, FBDO, Hons CL, FBCLA, and John Rumpakis, OD, MBA, explained why not making the most of your contact lens business means risking drop outs and losing money.

During the Contact Lens Global Forum, a partnership between Vision Expo East and the British Contact Lens Association, Mile Brujic, OD, Nick Rumney, MScO, FCO, FAAO, and Lyndon Jones, PhD, FCOptom, DipCLP, DipOrth, explored where contact lenses have been and where they’re going.

During the Contact Lens Global Forum, a partnership between Vision Expo East and the British Contact Lens Association, David Kading, OD, FAAO, Shelly Bansal, FBDO, Hons CL, FBCLA, and Jack Shaeffer, OD, argued their cases for various contact lens wearing schedules.

Recently, Dr. Klein asked me to examine one of his long-term rigid gas permeable (RGP) lens-wearing patients. For 2 months, her RGPs became heavily coated after application. Of course, her vision was compromised with debris build-up on her lenses, and her eyes irritated as she cleaned and re-applied the lenses multiple times a day.

We often put all the emphasis on the contact lens itself. It’s the first thing we change when things aren’t right, but it may be an unnecessary change if we consider the impact lens care has on the overall wearing experience. Because lens care products differ in how they clean, disinfect, and wet the lens, it is essential that we differentiate among them.

ABB Optical Group has backed out of a deal with Superior Vision, citing concerns over Superior’s new contact lens program-and independent optometrists’ response to it.

Today at SECO, Alcon Laboratories expanded its Dailies AquaComfort Plus portfolio with the launch of toric and multifocal designs.

Kelly Nichols, OD, FAAO, PhD, MPH, Dipl PH, says she would like to see optometrists screen for meibomian gland dysfunction during eye exams and consider the condition when treating patients who are experiencing discomfort with their contact lenses.

Contact lenses are a large part of any general eye care practice. It is one source of great pride and satisfaction when a patient new to contact lenses first sees clearly without his spectacles, and we all enjoy seeing that epiphany. Yet, like with all experiences, the new soon wears off, and those patients who started out with the best of intentions regarding their contact lens wear and care can slip into some not-so-healthy habits.

There is significant healing power in the doctor-patient relationship. If we work together in these relationships, significant improvement can occur to our patient’s quality of life and health status.