CONTACT LENSES TODAY
July 23, 2006
Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches more
than 12,000 readers in 74 countries.
Congress to Consider Children’s Vision Bill
Senator Christopher Bond (R.-Mo.) has introduced Senate Bill 3685, The Vision Care for Kids Act of 2006, a bill aimed at making it a national
priority to combat undiagnosed and untreated vision problems in school-aged children. S. 3685 would establish a federal grant program focusing on treatment to bolster
children’s vision initiatives in the states and encourage children’s vision partnerships with non-profit entities.
According to the National Parent
Teacher Association, 10 million children suffer from vision disorders. And, vision disorders are the fourth most common disability in the U.S. and one of the most prevalent
handicapping conditions in childhood. An analysis of state and federal vision care policy revealed that while 32 states require vision screenings for students, 29 do not
have a comprehensive eye exam. And, up to two thirds of children who fail vision screenings do not comply with recommendations and so enter school with uncorrected vision
problems. Amblyopia is treatable and preventable if caught within the early years of a child’s life, but remains the leading cause of vision loss in Americans under the age
of 45.
The American Optometric Association (AOA), American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the Vision Council of America (VCA) support the
bill.
Alcon and Eli Lilly to Collaborate on Diabetic Retinopathy Drug
Eli Lilly and Company and Alcon Inc. have signed a long-term agreement to co-promote ruboxistaurin mesylate (proposed brand name, Arxxant) in
the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Arxxant is an oral drug for the treatment of moderate to severe diabetic retinopathy and is currently under FDA review. Under the terms of the
agreement, Alcon will have primary responsibility for promotion to eye specialists, including retinal specialists and general ophthalmologists. Eli Lilly will have primary
responsibility for promotion to endocrinologists and primary care physicians.
Women’s Health Group Focuses on Sun’s Effect on Eyes
The not-for-profit National Women’s Health Resource Center (NWHRC) provides information on how the sun’s rays affect the eyes in a new Fast
Facts publication, “The Sun & Your Eyes: What You Should Know.” It offers consumers advice on how to lessen the risk of developing eye conditions like cataracts and
age-related macular degeneration. For a free copy of the report or to order bulk copies, visit
http://www.healthywomen.org/resources/nwhrcpublications/dpubs/fastfactssunandyoureyes. “The Sun & Your Eyes: What You Should Know,” was supported by an educational
grant from Vistakon.
Dryness = Dropouts
What effect does contact lens dryness have in your contact lens practice? Of the 31 million soft contact lens wearers, 21 million, or 67%,
self-report that eyes feel dry during contact lens wear. There are nearly 2.7 million contact lens dropouts annually. Many of these dropouts say dryness was a major reason
for discontinuing lens wear. Offering patients ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR™ Plus, a lens designed to meet the demands of contact
lens wearers in environments that can make eyes feel tired and dry, can keep patients wearing their contact lenses longer and boost your contact lens practice.
--ADVERTISING
Correction
Last week’s newsletter, it was incorrectly stated that the “Eye on Allergies” survey was conducted by the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of
American. The survey was conducted by MarketTools on behalf of Vistakon. CLToday regrets the error.
Abstract:
Incidence of GP Wear Post Keratoplasty
Researchers at Rotterdam Eye Hospital and the Free University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands recently conducted a retrospective review of
190 patients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty for keratoconus during a five-year period between 1995-2000. Their aim was to determine the frequency of postoperative
contact lens use, the time to fit the lenses after grafting, tolerance and visual acuity.
They successfully fit large-diameter (12mm) tri-curve rigid
GP lenses for 90 (47%) of the patients in the study with good tolerance. There were nine dropouts and 91 eyes were corrected in another way. Average tolerance was 9.2 hours
a day and BCVA was 20/25. Average follow-up was at least six months and the average age of the patient at first fitting was 36.2 years. They found no increased risk in
graft rejection.
Researchers found that 12mm GP lenses were successful in 47% of patients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty for keratoconus. They
conclude that it does not interfere with the use of chronic postoperative topical medication or increase risk of corneal graft rejection. They further say it is necessary
to recommend likely use of contact lenses to patients who have undergone grafting surgery.
Geerards AJ, Vreugdenhil W, Khazen A. Incidence of rigid gas-permeable
contact lens wear after keratoplasty for keratoconus. Eye Contact Lens. 2006 Jul;32(4):207-10.
Editor's Commentary:
The Case for Contact Lens Case Care
There is a new lens case that provides a boost in disinfection through the mechanism of silver ion. That should kill some of the little
buggers. Recent infection concerns have highlighted the need for lens care case cleanliness, relative to both bacteria and fungus. Make sure you talk to patients about
proper lens care case replacement and daily hygiene and always tell them not to top off. We all see too many dirty cases and too much topping off to not be very careful
about these issues.
Fitting Tip:
Tip for Patients with Small Eyes
Some patients with very small eyes or very big fingers can pose an interesting problem in our contact lens practice. These patients can’t
insert their lenses because their large fingers block their view.
I give them the following advice: To insert the lens on the right eye, I tell the
patient to turn his face contralaterally in front of the mirror. Then, ask the patient to look at the mirror and
apply the lens on the temporal bulbar conjunctiva. Then
have the patient look at his index finger (turns his eye to temporal) and apply the lens when he feels it on the bulbar conjunctiva.
The key is that
the patient keep touching the lenses lightly to make sure the lens is positioned well. Otherwise, the lens will not center and may move temporally when his eye turns to
center.
Davie Chen, optometry student,
School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
This month at http://www.siliconehydrogels.org, get an update of silicone hydrogels at
ARVO 2006 and review ‘oxygen flux‚’ as well as the cornea’s response to different levels of oxygen transmissibility.
Report adverse contact lens reactions here: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/ or call
(800) FDA-1088.
Access a reporting form for complications you've seen that were a result of contact lenses dispensed without a valid prescription
at the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry's (ARBO's) Web
site: http://www.arbo.org/arbo.asp?dt=R&doc=Complications. Complete and send the form online or print it
out and fax it to (866) 886-6164.
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