Contact Lenses Care

According to the present laws, the FDA classifies as a “drug” any contact lens that contains material other than the PMMA from which standard hard lenses are made. This includes, of course, all soft contact lenses; and since gas-permeable lenses contain either silicone or CAB, they fall into this category as well. The FDA feels that all the lenses in this class should be sterilized. Thus by FDA decree the manufacturers of gas- permeable lenses must recommend that you use the same regimen and solutions for cleaning, rinsing, and chemically disinfecting as with soft contact lenses. (Boiling, or heat disinfection, is not recommended, as the lenses would be ruined.) The literature that accompanies the lenses even warns, in large print, that unless you clean and disinfect the lenses daily, you may develop a “severe” ocular infection. However, I have not found this to be the case. In fact I have found that the solutions recommended by the FDA do not adequately clean the gas-permeable lenses and they may even produce some allergic reactions. Nor do they contain any wetting agents to make the lenses more comfortable on the eyes. And, as representatives from the gas-permeable lens manufacturers note, the hard-lens cleaners perform better in ridding some of the lenses of mucus buildup.

In reality gas-permeable lenses resemble hard lenses more than they do soft lenses. The materials from which they are made behave more like PMMA: they are hydrophobic (do not absorb water); they have a smooth, slick, small-pored surface that’s more easily cleaned than soft lenses; and there’s no reason to believe that infection is more of a danger than with hard lenses.

In the absence of solutions formulated specifically for gas- permeable materials many practitioners advise their patients to use hard-lens solutions for cleaning, wetting, and soaking their lenses, in spite of the fact that it has not been established to the FDA’s satisfaction that these solutions are safe to use with these lenses. I recommend to my patients that they use Blairex Cleaner for cleaning, and Soaclens for soaking. Additionally, some wearers instill a few drops of a lubricating and cushioning solution before inserting the lenses; or they wet the lens with a few drops of Adapettes or Clerz lubricating solution. You should avoid solutions containing chiorobutanol, a preservative, if you have the silicone / PMMA type of gas- permeable lenses. This substance can bind to the silicone in the lens and cause discomfort.

Silicone / PMMA lens wearers may find that their lenses accumulate annoying protein deposits. Your practitioner will probably recommend that you treat your lenses to a once-aweek enzyming to remove these deposits. These deposits may also be removed by rubbing the lens surface with a little 70 percent rubbing alcohol, and then cleaning the lens as usual.

In addition mechanical cleaners such as Swirl C1ean and Hydramat help in removing deposits that the fingertip can’t reach, such as near the edges and at the very center.

Insertion, Removal, Centering

These techniques are the same for gas-permeable contact lenses as for conventional hard contact lenses.

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