CLToday Fitting Tip of the Month

June 2006

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week, CLToday® reaches more than 10,000 readers in 74 countries.

Ensuring Safe Overnight Contact Lens Wear
With silicone hydrogel lenses now providing between 97-99% equivalent oxygen percentage (EOP) of normal atmosphere, contact lens wear has never been safer. Assuming that 80% or more of our patients do, in fact, sleep in their lenses at times, the added oxygen supplied by today’s materials offers reduced risk of hypoxic-related complications. With less epithelial binding of pseudomonas and decreased endothelial cell deformation, silicone hydrogel lenses have strong medical validation to be our primary lens of choice, especially for those who sleep in their lenses.
Tom Stout, O.D.,
Morgantown, W.Va.
Wet Lens, Patient Satisfaction
Among those ages 35-49, 65% of patients who consider dropping out of contact lens wear cite dryness sensation as a key reason. ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR™ Plus are made from senofilcon A, a next generation silicone hydrogel material. The proprietary formulation includes a remarkable moisture-rich wetting agent and no surface coating. The senofilcon A material balances properties to meet the demands of contact lens wearers in environments that can make eyes feel tired and dry. This breakthrough material creates a lens so moist and smooth that an eyelid glides effortlessly over it. ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses can help keep your patients in contact lenses by increasing their comfort and also giving them crisp vision and healthy lens wear.
--ADVERTISING
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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