Help with Soft Perm Lens

[GarethB]

Question for the optoms;

Once sensitivity to solutions has been eliminated or atleast a solution is found that causes least sensitivity. What types of lenses do those who seem to be sensitive to lenses react to most?

Thanks for the complement Lynn, just summarised much that has been posted here about Systane in one sentance.

[acnap]

Thanks for all the feedback. I wish there was just a simple answer. It possibly could be the solution as the only solution I have ever been able to use is ultra care for soft lenses and Labob for hard and with the soft perms they gave me new solutions although they said they were preservative free (doesn't say it on the box though). Could solutions for 2 days really cause me problems a week later?? I just wish I could go back to my old system of RGP and Toric which while i cant see so well i can wear the lenses. Also all this talk of Systane confuses me a bit. My eyes are not really dry at all, should I still use it to soothe the pain in the eye? Looks like it is not preservative free either. Any ideas on how long you need your eye to rest for it to go back to nomal? i waited 2 days then wore a lens and it went back to where it was. I feel like this is a no win situation.

[GarethB]

Systane is traditionally used for dry eyes, and to be honest dry eyes is something I have never sufferd from.

At the KC confrence earlier in the year, one of the presenters from Glasgow did say that many of the KC patients he see's have a deficiency in tear production or the way tears are made. Basically tears are not just salt water like saline, they also contain a lubricant too which helps keeps moisture retained by the eye and also helps the eye lids move over the surface of the eye smoothly. I think the other action was to provide a protective film over the eye.

Most the eye drops prescribed apear to me to come in two categories;

Viscous- to provide a lubricant over the eye surface and from experience after a few hours the effect is lost.

Watery/Salin- these are very runny and again from experience only do a very short term job.

The eye drops that are similar to Systane appear to forming a third category that lubricate and hydrate for a longer period.

It may be that part of the sensitivity is due to lack of surface lubrication of the eye when it comes to lens wear.

I found with the viscous drops that you have to add them while your lenses are removed and then it took at least 30 minutes before I could wear a lens again otherwise the lens got gunged up with the eye drops remaining. The ones I have been prescribed in the past would almost glue your eye lids together for the first 5 minutes!

The eye drops that perform like Systane give me the most relief.

I am aware of some people with RGP lenses that are sensitive to solutions wash and clean the lenses as normal, but then rinse the lenses thoroughly with saline and store them dry and only use a couple of drops of preservative free saline when they put their lenses in and this works well.

An optom would be better at saying if this approach could be applied to a soft perm lens. This is beacause as far as I am aware soft lens material needs to be kept we to maintain its soft properties otherwise it may become relativly rigid and the oxygen transfer becomes much reduced.

Hope this helps a bit more on the ey drop front.

[acnap]

As an update, have not worn lenses for 3 days. I wore soft lenses today for 3 hours. When in, it felt fine. Afterwards, the eye is extremely sore and back to where i was before. The whole thing makes no sense to me as before I could wear the soft or RGP for 8-10 hours for no problems the last 6 months and now 3 hours just destroys the right eye.

[Asif]

I think its feeling uncomfortable because of superficial marks on the eye because of prolonged lens wear and the eye will feel sore a few days. Try giving your eye more time to heal. For me it takes 3-5 days with out lens wear for the eye to feel better. If it still feels bad get it checked out by your optom.

[David Bennett]

THis "dry eye" and so called "lens intolerance" thing can be extremely inteteresting. It is I reapeat HIGHLY unlikely that people are "allergic" to the lens material. (in the same way that Camels are not found in Jungles... ie common things are common!)

Lens thickness, surface lubricity, lens deposition, lens/solution interface reactions, lid anatomy, lid wiper epitheliopathy (...see dicussions on that by "googleing" it) all play a part in lens intolerance but rarely the actual lens material.

agree, Systane is the best we have currently- ther are many more solutions due out in the near future BUT the one thing, if I were to take only one eye reated product to my desert islad would be...

"A sterile water HOT compress done 2x a day,
held on for 20 seconds and performed 3 times"

That gets the meibomian glands working and causes the mucin layer of the tear layer to thicken and that in turn causes the middle layer of tears to thicken. Hence tear layer quality is enchanced and lenses become MUCH more comfortable.

Simple, cheap, effective.

That at keeping hygeing around the eye and lenses scrupulously clean = happy lens wear.

David