CONTACT LENSES TODAY

October 27, 2002

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches 9,001 readers in 74 countries.

FDA Takes Action Against Plano Cosmetic Lenses
The FDA has issued a warning regarding plano cosmetic contact lenses. It recently began stopping imports of the decorative lenses at U.S. borders and said it will seize unapproved lenses sold in convenience stores, flea markets and other spots. The FDA is also warning consumers about the risks of permanent eye injury and blindness resulting from corneal scarring and vision impairment from uncontrolled infections. The risk for injury and blindness are presented by noncorrective, decorative contact lenses distributed without a prescription and without proper fitting by an eyecare professional, according to the FDA. To view the FDA's full news release, visit http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2002/NEW00846.html. If you know of anyone who purchased cosmetic lenses through an unauthorized distributor, urge them to file a consumer report by visiting http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html.

Vistakon, CooperVision and CIBA Vision announced their support of the FDA's continued regulation of all contact lenses as prescription medical devices and issued their own positioning statements. In addition, Vistakon has a special section on its Web site to educate consumers on the fact that all contact lenses are a medical device. Visit http://www.jnjvision.com/products/rx_disclaimer.html to view the disclaimer.
Study Explains Color Vision Phenomenon
Researchers from the Ohio State University found that the lack of a distinct word for "blue" in many languages may be explained by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation in tropical sunlight. The UV radiation can cause the eye's lens to turn yellow and happens normally to some Europeans over a lifetime of exposure and to people who live near the equator. The researchers set out to prove that this effect makes the color blue look black, dark or green.

The researchers showed virtual color swatches through a virtual reality lens to teenagers and university students and had them name the colors. When they saw the swatches through a yellow lens, they didn't call them "blue," but instead "green" or "gray." The researchers' results, which will appear in the November issue of Psychological Science, suggest that the worldwide variation in the color vocabularies of languages may be influenced by the physiology of how the speakers of those languages perceive the world.
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Two CL Companies Make it to Forbes' 200 Best Small Companies
Forbes recently released its annual list of Forbes' 200 Best Small Companies. This year, health-care-related companies make up 25 percent of the list. Specifically, Cooper Companies ranked 76 overall and Ocular Sciences ranked 92 overall.

Cooper's highlights include ranking 46th in profits and 45th in market value. Ocular Sciences' highlights include ranking 50th on the list in 12-month sales growth and 61st in profits.
Editor's Commentary: More on the FDA and Cosmetic Lenses
My guess is that the big US manufacturers of cosmetic contact lenses went to the FDA and said, "Not only does it look as though a firm from outside the US wants to come into the US and market unapproved cosmetic lenses as cosmetics instead of as devices needing a prescription, but it looks like they are already selling them at nonlicensed locations."

It seems like FDA, if it does still need to deregulate cosmetic lenses (they have been in other countries, I'll remind you), should at least clean up the marketplace with better safety before it does deregulate.

Unfortunately this past week, FDA's notice was misinterpreted by some media outlets causing consumers and some practitioners to think that there was a recall of US manufacturers' cosmetic lenses. This was not the case.  

Fitting Tip: Improving Compliance with CL Wearing Schedules
When an existing contact lens patient becomes a new patient to my practice, I've found that asking a few simple questions gets our relationship off on the right foot.

- "What type/brand of contact lens are you currently wearing?"
- "What solution do you use?"
- "How often do you change your lenses?"
- "How often did your previous eye doctor prescribe for you to change your lenses?"

If the last two answers don't agree, then I start a conversation during the exam and explain the evolution of contact lenses and give a simple corneal physiology lesson. I explain that wearing contact lenses isn't optimal for the corneal health and that as doctors, we're trying to control any damage to the eye. Most patients make a statement similar to the, "No one ever told me that before." I have found that once educated, these patients follow my prescribed contact lens wearing regimen.
--Patrick Henry, O.D.
Toleda, Ohio
Abstract: Corneal Warpage Takes Time to Resolve
The authors suggest that refraction, keratometry and corneal topography be stable after serial measurements before refractive surgery. Overall, 12 percent of cases had significant contact lens induced corneal warpage. Recovery rates differed between lens types: Soft extended wear 11.6 (+/-8.5) weeks, soft toric 5.5 (+/-4.9) weeks, soft spherical daily wear 2.5 (+/-2.1 weeks) and GP lenses 8.8 (+/-6.8) weeks. Wang X, McCulley JP, Bowman RW, and Cavanagh D. Time to Resolution of Contact Lens-Induced Corneal Warpage Prior to Refractive Surgery. The CLAO J. 28(4):169-171 (2002)
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