Lens care explained

Overview

There are a large number of contact lens solutions in the market. This is good news for the consumer, since it adds choice and competition. The bad news is that it often adds to confusion over which products are for which contact lenses. Below you can find a brief summary of contact lens care categories and their purpose:

• Saline solutions are used for cleaning dirt and residue from other contact lens solutions or more commonly as a rinsing solution while using other products. They do not disinfect, nor do they kill bacteria. Usually used as a rinsing agent prior to insertion.
• Hydrogen Peroxide treatments are the most aggressive anti-bacterial agent, resulting in potent, rapid disinfection. The disadvantages are the complexity of use (particularly in the two step process) and the fact that they do not really work for long-term storage if you are an occasional user.
• Multi-purpose solutions (or all-in-one solutions) are slightly less potent but much simpler to use and very convenient (requiring only one bottle). The disadvantages are relatively lower disinfection. More recently they have also been associated with corneal staining with the latest silicone hydrogel lenses.

Note: You should always discuss your lens care with your eye care practitioner. Use the solutions they advise and make sure you completely understand the instructions.

RGP / Rigid Contact Lens Solutions

Hard lenses have very specific solutions. These are listed at GetLenses as a specific, rigid gas permeable solutions sub-category to avoid any confusion. The main brands are AMO Total Care and Bausch& Lomb Boston Advance . How do they work?

In both cases there is a cleaning agent and a disinfecting / storage agent. Make sure you are read the instructions carefully, but in principle this is the normal procedure:

• Wash your hands thoroughly using hand wash
• Dry your hands (preferably with a lint free paper towel)
• Remove your lens
• Fill your lens case with disinfecting /storage solution
• Put a couple of drop of cleaning solution on your lens and the same on your hand.
• Rub the lens gently making sure you remove all traces of protein and dirt
• Rinse the lenses (preferably in saline solution)
• Put the lenses into the contact lens case and seal tightly.

A relatively new RGP product is Regard K. This does away with the multi-step process and is more similar to the non-RGP all-on-one solution approach. It is also preservative free and therefore prescribed by some eye care practitioners as a fall-back in the event of reactions to other products.

All-in-One / Multi-Purpose Solutions

When all-in-one solutions were first launched they were seen as a big breakthrough in lens care convenience. Away with all the bottles and two-step process. Some products also introduced "no-rub" - in actual fact rubbing was always more about helping the disinfection process than being really about cleaning. Almost all multi-purpose solutions now use the no rub claim (with the most notable exception being Renu MPS). Use may vary by product (always read the instructions!) but follow this simplified format:

• Wash your hands thoroughly using hand wash
• Dry your hands (preferably with a lint free paper towel)
• Remove your lens
• Fill your lens case with disinfecting /storage solution
• Rub the lens gently making sure you remove all traces of protein and dirt (if required - see above)
• Rinse the lenses in the same solution
• Put the lenses into the contact lens case and seal tightly.

Normally, most all-in-one solutions require a minimum of 4 -6 hours.

Hydrogen Peroxide solutions

Hydrogen peroxide solutions are extremely effective. They can also be dangerous as hydrogen peroxide is toxic to the cornea unless it has been neutralized. All of the hydrogen peroxide solutions sold by GetLenses are one-step, meaning the solution is neutralized by a catalytic disc in the contact lens case.

Note: Do not think you can use contact lens cases other than those that come in the box.

Corneal staining

The recent growth of silicone hydrogel lenses has resulted in a number of incidents of corneal staining associated with all in one lens solutions. The simplest way to address this is to use Regard - this is a preservative free all-in-one solution that combines the disinfecting qualities of a hydrogen peroxide solution with the convenience of normal multi-purpose solution. Although slightly more expensive, it is one of the few solutions with no problems.

Which is the best contact lens solution for me?

This discussion will start with your optician and will depend on your eye care history and your financial restrictions. I always base my decisions on the following:

• If I think a customer is likely to cut corners I will always recommend multi-purpose solutions
• If the customer has history of preservative related issues I will recommend Synergi orRegard
• If the customer works in a high risk (bacteria or fungus) environment I will recommend a hydrogen peroxide solution