CLToday Fitting Tip of the Month

December 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.

Silicone Hydrogel Lenses: Maximizing Performance
When I have a patient wearing silicone hydrogel lenses who complains of irritated eyes, I try not to change too many things at once. This stepped approach allows me to better understand the problem so I can approach it intelligently and more effectively. It also gives me a bit more face-to-face time with the patient.
For the new patient, this approach provides more time to adapt to the new material. When I move a patient from another material into a silicone hydrogel lens, I inform her that there may be a different feel to the lens in the first week. I find that time will often resolve this complaint.
Mark Yoder, O.D.,
Bluffton, Ohio.

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

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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