CONTACT LENSES TODAY

June 8, 2003

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches 9,700 readers in 74 countries.

AOA to Help Amend Proposed CL Bill
Representative Richard Burr (R-NC) introduced legislation (HR 2221) that would require the release of contact lens prescriptions by prescribing doctors. Unfortunately, the bill is basically the same as a bill Rep. Burr introduced last year and doesn't address the proper verification of prescriptions. As currently written, the bill doesn't address the issue of contact lenses being sold without a valid prescription. Therefore, the American Optometric Association (AOA) has commented that it can't support HR 2221 in its present form. It has worked with Rep. Burr and his staff in the past to resolve the verification issue and plans to continuing working with him and other members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to amend the bill further to meet the AOA's public health concerns.

New Book Reviews Tx of CL-Related Complications
A newly published book includes the treatment of contact lens related complications as well as other anterior eye disorders. Dr. Adrian Bruce has published Anterior Eye Disease and Therapeutics A-Z with co-author Dr. Michael Loughnan, an ophthalmologist and senior staff specialist at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Australia. For more information, visit http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/product.jps?isbn=0750652616.

CV ENCORE TORIC: So Much More Than Just "Location, Location, Location." -- It's patient preference, parameter range and in-stock product availability. Recent studies show that 95% of patients prefer CV Encore Toric to the leading disposable toric. And with the addition of a -2.25D cylinder power and sphere powers from +6.00 to -8.00D, you can now fit more of your patients with the most advanced disposable toric. Plus, you'll appreciate more than 99% in-stock product availability. For more information on this outstanding toric lens, contact CooperVision at (800) 341-2020 or visit the Web site at http://www.coopervision.com.
--ADVERTISING

Free Software Helps Practitioners Design GP Lenses
At no cost, Blanchard Contact Lens now offers GP contact lens design software for its ESSential and ESSential Xtra aspheric multifocal contact lenses. The ESSential Calculator is available in desktop and in handheld software versions to aid eyecare practitioners in designing and ordering Blanchard's presbyopic GP aspheric multifocal lens products. For more information or to download your free calculator, visit http://www.blanchardlab.com

New Web Site Caters to Practitioners' Needs
CIBA Vision just launched the Web site http://www.mycibavision.com to offer U.S. and Canadian eyecare professionals the quickest and most convenient way to order CIBA Vision lenses and lens care products, track shipments and communicate with various CIBA Vision departments. Practitioners can conduct business with the company at their convenience 24 hours each day, seven days each week. To sign up, fill out the online registration form on the Web site.

Abstract: A Recipe for Myopia?
Researchers at the Ohio State University gathered information on 366 eighth-grade children's current vision correction prescription as well as that of their parents. Approximately one in five children in the study have myopia. One third of children in the study who had two myopic parents had myopia, nearly one in five children who had one myopic parent had myopia and fewer than 10 children without myopic parents had myopia. The study's lead author says that while the chance of developing myopia does increase with the number of myopic parents a child has, it's not a straightforward inheritance pattern. According to information collected from the parents, the myopic children spent about two hours more per week studying and reading for pleasure than did the children who have normal vision. According to the researchers, the next step is to look at how heredity and environment might help vision care providers predict which patients will develop myopia.
Mutti, DO; Mitchell, GL; Moeschberger, ML; Jones, LA; Zadnik, K. Parental Myopia, Near Work, School Achievement, and Children's Refractive Error. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. (2002) 43:3633-3640.

Editor's Commentary: Programs Helpful in Designing Lenses
Over the past few issues we've published information on a number of contact lens design software programs. GP lenses still have an important role in our practices. Many of our patients couldn't function without them. GP contact lens design programs can be helpful in teaching, staff training and patient education as well in providing an assist to the eyecare practitioner who needs to perfect a custom lens design. Other good programs include: http://www.eyedealsoftware.com and clsoptical@aol.com.

Fitting Tip: Is the Lens Stuck or Lost?
After receiving many calls from frantic mothers whose child has a contact lens "stuck" in her eye, I realized a simple solution. When I train a new soft contact lens wearers on application and removal techniques, I give her a single sterile fluorescein strip. I advise the patient that if she ever thinks that her lens is stuck in her eye, then she should moisten the tip of the strip with her saline solution and apply a drop into the inferior cul-de-sac. Most often, the lens has come out of the eye and is lost somewhere. But if the lens is still on the patient's eye, then it will be stained and she'll see it. I show all soft contact lens wearers how to look into the superior fornix. The relief of knowing that the lens isn't stuck on the eye far outweighs the cost of one disposable soft lens.
--Daryl Zelenak, O.D., Bay City, Mich.

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