CONTACT LENSES TODAY
August 6, 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.
August is Children’s Eye Health Month
In an effort to educate parents about the importance of children’s eye health, Prevent Blindness America has declared August as Children’s
Eye Health and Safety Awareness month. The non-profit group has developed two unique resources to help parents and children learn about and manage amblyopia.
The
Children and Eye Problems Web Discussion Forum allows parents the opportunity to discuss eye conditions like amblyopia online with other parents. There are currently more
than 500 active members on the site. The Eye Patch Club is a program intended to encourage children with amblyopia to wear their patches as prescribed by their
doctors. Members of the club receive a special calendar and stickers, among other materials. The parent places a sticker on the calendar for each day the child wears his
or her patch. When the calendar is complete, the child can send it to Prevent Blindness America to receive a special prize. The Eye Patch Club kit is available for $12.95.
Proceeds will go to the organization’s sight-saving programs including free vision screenings.
Contact Lens Innovator Passes
David Garfield Ewell, O.D., founder of Kontur Kontact Lens Company, passed away on Sunday, July 30 due to a heart attack. Dr. Ewell graduated
from the UC Berkeley school of Optometry in 1954 after serving for three years in WWII. He was a pioneer in the contact industry and developed one of the most widely used
and successful designs for correcting astigmatism. A stroke forced him to retire in 2002 and his son, Dana, continues the business. Over the years, he received several
distinguished awards including the California Optometric Association’s Contact Lens Person of the Year and the American Academy of Optometry Section on Cornea and Contact
Lenses Founder’s award for his contribution to the contact lens industry. In lieu of flowers, the family requests remembrance gifts be made to the Church of the Redeemer
in San Rafael, Calif.
ABB’s Annual Supply Savings Card
In an effort to help you increase annual contact lens supply sale ratio, ABB Optical has developed an exclusive service that enables online
creation of an Annual Supply Savings Card for use in patient presentations. The two-sided, 8½ by 11”, laminated card illustrates the savings patients can realize by
purchasing an annual supply of up to eight soft lens brands of your choice. Current manufacturer rebates are shown and the savings automatically calculated. You can also
include your retail pricing and practice name. Two cards are available for $32 and will be delivered to your practice within five working days. Visit
http://www.abboptical.com for
more information.
Because the World Is a Very Dry Place
Whether they’re staring at a computer or feeling the effects of dry heat or air conditioning, contact lens wearers face daily challenges to
keep their eyes comfortable. Forty-two percent of all contact lens wearers use rewetting drops at least once a day. Challenging environments can leave eyes feeling tired
and dry. ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR™ Plus, the next step in the ULTRA COMFORT SERIES™, offers Eye Care Professionals a way
to keep these sufferers and potential dropouts wearing contact lenses. The ultra breathable lens (Dk/t = 147) keeps feeling fresh even in adverse environments, leading to
greater patient satisfaction.
--ADVERTISING
Synergize Expands Capacity
SynergEyes Inc. recently tripled its production capacity to meet market demand. The company’s manufacturing facilities are now consolidated
under one roof in Carlsbad, Calif. SynergEyes manufactures a hybrid contact lens that combines a GP center with a hydrophilic outer skirt.
Coastal Contacts Working on Acquisition
In a recent press release, Coastal Contacts Inc. announced the execution of a Letter of Intent to acquire a complementary vendor of contact
lenses. The company has completed due diligence and is working towards signing a definitive share purchase agreement. The company says further details will be provided as
appropriate.
Menicon Opens Office in Madrid
Following European expansion plans to provide better service to customers in Spain, Menicon Co. Ltd.
announces the opening of a new office in
Madrid. The Madrid office will provide support in all areas of operations effective Sept. 1, 2006. The company says the new office will play an important role in the
introduction of 12 new GP lens designs from NKL in Menicon Z material.
Global Keratoconus Congress Accepting Submissions
The Educational Program Committee of the Global Keratoconus Congress invites the submission of abstracts for the Free Papers and Scientific
Posters Competition to be held January 26-28, 2007 in Las Vegas. Papers and Posters related to keratoconus, corneal topography, post penetrating keratoplasty or related
irregular corneal surface, gas permeable lens and lens care topics are welcome. Please visit
http://www.gkc2007.com for information.
Additionally, the Global Keratoconus Congress is pleased to
announce that registration is open for attendees. The website has been updated to include hotel information and a preliminary agenda as well as registration information.
Please visit www.gkc2007.com for information and to register.
--ADVERTISING
Abstract:
Contact Lens-Related Corneal Ulcers
Investigators at Antwerp University Hospital’s Department of Ophthalmology in Antwerp, Belgium recently conducted a retrospective analysis
of patients who required hospitalization for a contact lens-induced corneal ulcer over a seven-year period. They examined the files of patients admitted between January
1997 and December 2003. They found a total of 107 patients with a contact lens-related corneal ulcers, an increase from five in 1997 to 22 in 2003. Of those, 99 wore soft
contact lenses, nine of whom used disposables, 73 planned replacement and 17 conventional lenses. Only six patients wore extended wear and three used daily
disposables.
Researchers found the most frequently cultured organisms were
Pseudomonas and other gram-negative germs (70%), and Acanthamoeba (16%).
They also found the majority of corneal ulcerations were centrally located and resulted in an average acuity loss of four lines. During the study period, the number of
patients hospitalized rose, which the authors say is partially attributable to the increasing prevalence
of lens wear in the Belgian population (3.5% in 1995 and 6.5% in
2003). They conclude that the data highlight the need for improvements in patient education.
Verhelst D, Koppen C, Van Looveren J, Meheus A, Tassignon MJ; the
Belgian Keratitis Study Group. Contact lens-related corneal ulcers requiring hospitalization: A 7-year retrospective study in Belgium. Acta Ophthalmol Scand.
2006 Aug;84(4):522-6.
Editor's Commentary:
Mail-Order Company's Potential New CL
I've been encouraged to say something about this even though I didn't want to give those who made the comments that much credit. I have been
informed that a few practitioners were critical of my comments last week about the potential introduction of a new (uniquely packaged) single-use contact lens from a lab
owned by a well-known contact lens seller to enhance competition. One of the comments suggested that I knew little about competition since I was an academic and the other
that I must have been paid by the company to say what I did. I find comments like this comical, naive, uninformed and quite frankly, not worth the time to discuss. A brief
response will suffice:
First, those who know me know I like direct dialogue. Feel free to contact me at
cltoday@lwwvisioncare.com. Second, I am an
academic, among other things, and proud of it. But don't be fooled: Like many other academics, I am responsible for an academic clinical enterprise that is actually
quite economically successful in a city where there is an abundance of eye care providers. I also happen to edit a publication or two that compete in a very competitive
publishing field. (We won't mention sports.) So much for not understanding competition! As far as the question as to whether I was paid off to report the news last
week – no. It's just one of my jobs.
Fitting Tip:
Dishwasher safe?
In response to last week’s fitting tip, I have a concern with using the dishwasher to clean contact lens cases. Most dishwashers use a rinse
agent that can form a film on the surface of the case that contaminates both soft and GP lenses. The detergent itself may also cause this problem. If the dishwashing cycle
is complete with only the case and no rinse agent or detergent (I assume no dishes either), I believe this could be a good method of cleaning. But we need to inform our
patients on procedure. As much as we would like to believe common sense prevails, in many cases it does not.
Patrick McDonnell, N.C.L.C.-A.C.
Consultant, Aero
Contact Lens, Inc.
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.
Send your favorite tips to tips@cltoday.com -- if your tip is selected
as 'Best of the Month,' you'll receive a free T-shirt (see http://www.CLToday.com for details). Please include your full name,
degree or title and city/state/country.
Visit Contact Lens Spectrum ( http://www.clspectrum.com ) for interactive clinical posters and issue archives.
Visit Contact Lenses Today for our Best Fitting Tips.
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