UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hello

I am a scleral user.

Is there any real difference between Amidose and the normal salines such as Bausch & Lomb?

I cant really see much difference between these two.

Can normal salines be used to fill up scleral lens?

Thanks

Hey Someperson,

I work within recruitment in the Pharmaceutical industry and as part of my role I need to have some technical knowledge.

Bausch & Lomb would be the company that make the solution, and most salines will be the same.

My recomendation is to check the ingredients, if they match then you should be able to use other salines with absolutely no problem.

If they don't then speak to a specialist.

Marc

My understanding on the Amidose and Steripod blue salines is that they are "microfiltered" to remove any tiny particulates that bacteria could grow on.

For what it's worth, when I wore a scleral I used the preservative free saline solution that I got at out local Tesco. In fact, this was what was recommended by the hospital

Andrew

There are often subtle differences such as ratio of ingredients, so you read the packaging and they have the same stuff in but the amounts differ.

Then there is those with preservatives and preservative free.

Some are sterilised by filtration, others chemically and so on.

Baush and Lomb Sensitive Eyes Plus saline is the only one I do not have an adverse reaction too.

So on days when I run out of Amidose using normal saline like Bausch & Lomb can do the job and be used as an alternative?

It seems hard to make sense of the indgredients and by the sounds of it, it depends on the individual persons tolerance aswell.

How come there seems to be such a difference in price then if there is little difference?

Thanks alot for the replies.

Price differences are usually down to Branding and volume of saline in a bottle.

Before I found the type saline ahd an affect on my eyes I went for what ever was cheapest per 100 ml.

Sometimes getting a couple 250 ml bottles was overall chaeper than one 400ml bottle.

I wear sclerals and have both one of the big bottles = "ordinary" saline???? - and amidose tubes.

Advantages of the big bottles@
- sit beside kitchen sink and are always handy, don't keep running out and have to find a new one without lenses early inthe morning
- easy to find - big white bottle - and don't get dropped on floor and lost easily

Disafvantages of the big bottles:
- too ig and heavy to pp one in my handbag when going out somewhere
- because big and heavy and you have to tip them over a long way, it is very easy to splash saline all over the place and end up using far more of it than really necessary. That is, uneconomical in terms of volume used

Advantages of Amidose:
- handy little tubes to pop in handbag and small enough to fit into rules for flying these days
- easier to use just as much as you need and not spash about
- sterile until you open each tube - you've only got about a week's supply open and vulnerable to going off at once, whereas the big bottles have a whole big bottle opened at once

Disadvantages of Amidose:
- little tues keep running out and you have to keep fishing out a new one
- need scissors/knife to cut the tips off - problem if flying.
- hard to see the little tubes without the lenses in and they keep getting knocked off the ironing board onto kitchen floor, or lost in bottom of handbag
- for mee, too "strong" and sting slightly - compared to what I used before and still miss: K-Lens. OK, those who remember the K0Lens afficionados can all laugh here!

Rosemary