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Contact lens solutions supplied by NHS

Posted: Thu 08 Sep 2005 11:52 am
by BusyLizzy
:? Hello peeps,
I've tried several different lens solutions over the past 4 years or so: Total Care (I was hypersensitive to it), Opti-free (Alcon) (better, but still a no-go), and now Mira Flow to clean, Renu to soak. The Mira Flow/Renu/preserv. free saline to rinse combination has worked well for almost a year, but yet again I've been told I've developed an allergy to the solutions. The hosp. optom.
gave me a sample of a different solution (Unique pH) to try, and has said that if my eyes/the lens will tolerate it without probs, the hospital will supply it if I can't find it anywhere.
Having looked around, I can't find it anywhere.
Does anyone else with sensitivity to solutions get theirs on the NHS?

Once the trial-size bottle is empty, does one ring the optom and say "The sample was good, so please, ma'am, can I have some more, like you said?", or do you have to wait patiently until the next appointment (in my case, in November?).
:oops:

Posted: Thu 08 Sep 2005 1:26 pm
by GarethB
Give http://www.postoptics.co.uk a try, they are good for the Bauch & Lomb solutions I use, I react to the others.

Gareth

Posted: Mon 19 Sep 2005 5:40 pm
by cherishu2
Hi, i can only use oxy sept or tescos own. which contain exactly the same ingredients as oxy.
But im afraid solutions are no longer available on the NHS, sensitive eyes or not. Yep unfair

Posted: Wed 21 Sep 2005 9:50 pm
by Christine Wright
I'm a hospital optometrist and we're still suplying solutions on the NHS! However, it's mostly the people who are exempt from paying prescription charges who use us - people who have to pay say that there's not much difference in price from buying the solutions in the shops - and the shops are more convenient.We're only allowed to prescibe 3 months at a time in my hospital, so my patients leave a message at reception when they need another one and I leave a prescription there for them to collect. I suppose different hospitals will have different arrangments...
You might have more luck in finding Unique PH in Opticians - or on the internet, as has been suggested. There is not such a big demand for GP solutions these days, as soft lenses have the biggest share of the market, and the big pharmacies and supermarkets often do their own brands. If you have the details of the manufacturers on your Unique PH box you could try ringing them up to ask them if they supply to anyone in your area.
Good luck!