CONTACT LENSES TODAY
October 21, 2007
Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Carla Mack and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches more than 12,000 readers in 74 countries.
Survey Shows Few Americans Taking Care of Their Eyesight
According to the American Optometric Association's 2007 American Eye-Q survey, almost half of respondents indicated eyesight as the sense they most worry about losing, yet admitted to knowingly engaging in behaviors that could be harmful to their eyes and vision, including poor contact-lens hygiene and avoiding eye exams.
The survey also showed that Americans have misconceptions about eye-related health. According to the survey results, habits that can be most harmful to eyes are not widely understood. Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly cited smoking cigarettes and 61 percent correctly noted that eye-rubbing can be harmful. But only 54 percent cited drinking alcohol, and 27 percent cited drinking caffeine -- both considered potentially detrimental to eye health by the AOA.
Contact lens safety and hygiene proved another area of concern. Among survey respondents who wear contact lenses, 79 percent admitted to practicing poor contact lens hygiene on a regular basis, including showering, swimming and sleeping in contacts not approved for overnight wear, as well as wearing contacts longer than the suggested timeframe. Only 32 percent said they change their contact lens case every one to three months as recommended by the AOA; and 17 percent admitted they never change their lens case at all.
Even though Americans need to see an eye specialist to get prescriptions for new lenses or glasses, thirty-two percent of Americans who wear contact lenses or glasses said they have not visited an eye doctor within the past year. Survey respondents who don't use any corrective lenses also do not visit an eye doctor or eye specialist as often as they should; 35 percent admitted they have not visited an eye specialist for five years or longer. Another 11 percent of non-users said they get an eye exam only every three or four years. And 22 percent of non-users said they have never had their eyes checked by an eye doctor or eye care specialist.
New Illinois Law Requires Eye Exams For Children, Performed Only by Qualified Doctors
With the support of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Optometric Association, the Illinois General Assembly passed the new law requiring comprehensive eye examinations for children entering kindergarten or enrolling for the first time in public, private, or parochial elementary schools in Illinois. The General Assembly overrode the governor’s amendatory veto which would have allowed various health professionals who are not specifically trained in the eye and who may not have the appropriate equipment to perform eye exams. The General Assembly rejected that approach, insisting that only qualified eye doctors, such as optometrists and ophthalmologists, can conduct exams.
The new law takes effect January 1, 2008. Illinois joins Kentucky and Missouri as the third state in the nation requiring eye exams for children entering public schools. Since the Kentucky law requiring eye exams was enacted seven years ago, 13 percent of Kentucky children have been identified as needing corrective lenses, 3.4 percent diagnosed with amblyopia, and 2.3 percent diagnosed with strabismus.
Offer Comfort and Convenience to More Types of Patients
Athletes, teens, part-time wearers, and those who are solution-sensitive, suffer from allergies or frequently travel are all great
1•DAY ACUVUE® MOIST™ Brand Contact Lens candidates. All these patient types and more can benefit from the long lasting comfort of LACREON™ technology, the convenience of fresh lenses every day and the protection of Class II UV blocking.* Improve the quality of life for more patients by prescribing
1•DAY ACUVUE® MOIST™ Brand. To learn more, go to:
*Important Product and UV Information | Important Safety Information
--ADVERTISING
Vision Care for Kids Act Approved by U.S. House
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Vision Care for Kids Act of 2007 (H.R. 507) which would establish a federal grant program focusing on treatment and designed to bolster children's vision initiatives in the states and encourage children's vision partnerships with non-profit entities. The Act directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to provide $65 million in grant funding to proven efforts to allow more children, particularly those under 9 years of age who are already known to be at-risk for vision problems, to receive comprehensive eye examinations and appropriate care from their local optometrist or other eye doctor. Grants would also go toward supporting public education and awareness efforts designed to promote early detection and treatment of vision.
Ten million children suffer from vision disorders, according to the National Parent Teacher Association. Vision disorders are considered the fourth most common disability in the United States, and they are one of the most prevalent handicapping conditions in childhood.
Consumers Urged Not to Buy Decorative Contact Lenses Without a Prescription
Last week’s Contact Lenses Today reported the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s reminder to consumers about OTC decorative contact lenses. Similarly the American Optometric Association issued its statement this week warning consumers about the risks of wearing decorative contact lenses without a prescription. These October warnings are issued as non-corrective lenses are easily accessible to consumers and are especially popular around Halloween.
Decorative lenses are marketed and distributed directly to consumers through a variety of sources including flea markets, the Internet, beauty salons and convenience stores. Consumers often find them at retail outlets where they are sold as fashion accessories.
The statement warned that people who buy and wear contact lenses without medical guidance and a valid prescription put themselves at risk for ocular inflammation, bacterial infection or mechanical damage to the eye, with the potential of irreversible loss of sight. Federal law requires the FDA to regulate decorative lenses as a medical device, similar to corrective lenses, making it illegal to dispense the lenses without a prescription.
Global
Keratoconus Congress 2007 – Agenda Available
The agenda for the second Global Keratoconus Congress is now available online. The event will be hosted at
Bally’s in Las Vegas, January 25-27, 2008. Please visit http://www.GKCongress.com. There you will
find the educational program agenda and information on hotel accommodations, as well as the ability to register for the event. The program
will be accredited for continuing education under COPE, NCLE and JCAHPO.
Companies interested in exhibiting should contact Heather
Seasholtz at 215-643-8073.
--ADVERTISING
Every Day Is World Sight Day.
Millions worldwide need an eye exam and a pair of glasses. You can give sight at any time by signing up for a regular monthly donation of $25, $50 or $100,
donating your exam fees and asking patients to add $5 to their invoices. Visit
www.givingsight.org.
--ADVERTISING
Abstract:
Contact Lens Cultures in Cases of Microbial Keratitis
Researchers from the Centre for Eye Research Australia at the University of Melbourne examined the association between cultures of contact lenses and corneal scraping in contact lens-related microbial keratitis. They conducted a retrospective analysis of the culture results of corneal scrapings and contact lenses of patients with contact lens-related microbial keratitis who were initially seen at Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2004.
Fifty eye specimens of 49 patients were included in the study. Corneal scrapings and contact lenses were culture positive in 17 eyes (34%) and in 35 eyes (70%), respectively. In 13 eyes, corneal scrapings and contact lenses yielded identical organisms. Serratia marcescens was the most common organism isolated from the corneal scrapings and from the contact lenses.
The authors concluded that contact lens culture may sometimes give a clue to the organism involved in cases of microbial keratitis in which the corneal scraping is culture negative and may help in choosing the appropriate antimicrobial therapy.
Das S, Sheorey H, Taylor HR, Vajpayee RB. Association between cultures of contact lens and corneal scraping in contact lens related microbial keratitis. Arch Ophthalmol. 2007 Sep;125(9):1182-5.
Reader Commentary:
Patients Have Choices
I loved your recent editor's commentary in CL Today about "Patients will pay for value...don't make the decision for them." It reminded me of the time I had a very successful private practitioner in one of my courses as a guest speaker. He said his biggest competition was not from the commercial outlets. He said his biggest competition was "...from patients choosing to use their discretionary income for cell phones, high-speed internet service, cable TV, and expensive car leases." Quality health care is a choice for many of our patients - and our job is to explain to them the benefits of choosing wisely.
Robert D. Newcomb, O.D., M.P.H.
Professor of Clinical Optometry
The Ohio State University College of Optometry
Editor's Commentary:
Guidelines for Success
I appreciate and agree with Dr. Newcomb's comments. That being said, office culture is not easily changed. You still must do it. Once you have established that you will always make the best recommendation for each patient, take the next step and bill for your services. Set clear established guidelines for what is covered in a contact lens fitting fee and hold your staff and all doctors in the office accountable. If patients call with new complaints, advising them over the phone that a service will be "covered under the fitting fee" or "free" is a bad idea. This sets the patient up for unrealistic expectations.
Carla Mack, O.D., F.A.A.O.
This month at http://www.siliconehydrogels.org explore the significance of the recent “no-rub” solution recalls, learn about atypical upper lid margin staining in dry-eyed silicone hydrogel wearers and review the latest in silicone hydrogel research present at ARVO 2007.
Report adverse contact lens reactions here: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/ or call (800) FDA-1088.
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.
For more information on Contact Lenses Today including archives of previous issues or to subscribe to this newsletter, please visit our website at www.cltoday.com.
For the latest articles on contact lenses, important clinical information and helpful tools related to the contact lens practice go to www.clspectrum.com.
CLToday Services: Subscribe; Unsubscribe; submit news to news@cltoday.com; or, fax 1-215-643-3902.