Kerasoft 3 lenses

[whiteduck]

Hi all,

I have been lucky enough to try Ultravision Kerasoft 3 soft silicon-hydrogel lenses for keratoconus and initial impressions are very good but I have some questions that I wonder if someone can answer before my next visit to the eye hospital.

- I find my initial vision sharpness can take quite some time to "settle" - no good for driving - can anything be done to improve this? I have already tried eye drops to see if my eyes were too dry. On the trial pair I notice a marker - should I try to insert with this at the top to reduce the time to settle?

- Has anyone found that Reform lens solutions have damaged their Kerasofts? I was on a business trip to Dublin and found one eye started to become very irritated in the morning and I was forced to remove the lens - of course this could be unrelated to Reform but I certainly find my normal Opti-Free Replenish to be much more wettable. I only used the Reform because at the time there was no <100ml "Travel" version of Replenish - there is now !

- Will daily disposables ever be available rather than 3 monthly replacements?

- Is it possible to get a larger optical zone as my vision does deteriorate in less light presumably as the pupil expands?

- It can take some time between NHS eye hospital appointments so am I able to go to a private specialist, where are they based and what sort of cost is involved this way?

Many thanks
Ian

[Andrew MacLean]

Ian

I don't know the answers to your questions, but I am sure that there will be somebody along in a moment who does. i just wanted to thank you for raising your questions here; I am sure that others who are either trying or thinking of trying new-style lenses for KC will benefit from your experience, and the answers you are given.

Andrew

[GarethB]

Perhaps the fit needs a little tweaking, as I can't say I experienced yhis when I had the Kerasoft 3 and i don't get it with the Kerasoft IC lenses. The line on the lens is to help the optome make sure the lens is sitting correctly so should rotate automatically so that it in the 6 O'Clock position. My lenses take about 10 - 15 minutes to settle depending how tierd my eyes are when I wake up. I put my lenses in first thing, so a case of out of bed wash and lenses in so by the time I am dressed and had breakfast the lenses have been in for over 15 minutes.

The lens solution I use is Baush & Lombs Renu for soft lenses including silicone hydrogels, I've been using it for the past 18 months and had absolutly no lens issues at all.

Hope this helps.

Gareth

[whiteduck]

Thanks Andrew and Gareth!

What is the difference with the IC version (I guess Irregular Cornea) - is this something I should ask about?

Best regards
Ian

[Lynn White]

Hi Ian,

Lots of questions here ..

Let me introduce myself. I am an optometrist working in private practice but I also work with Ultravision as their KeraSoft consultant.

What you are asking relates to how the lens fits. This is difficult to comment about, as how the vision settles can relate to the shape of your cornea and how the lens was fitted and no-one here can know the details of your particular fitting. It can also be influenced by previous contact lens wear in that if you have been wearing rigid lenses before, it may take a while for everything to settle down.

Generally, Ultravision suggests that the new KeraSoft IC be the first lens of choice over the KeraSoft 3. The reason for this is that the newer lens tends to give more consistent vision and also can be modified to the individual cornea more easily. Having said that, many people who do well with KeraSoft 3 happily carry on with that lens.

The KeraSoft IC can be customised more easily and yes, you can get a slightly larger optical zone in this lens, whereas the KeraSoft 3 has a fixed optical zone. However, large pupils are a difficult issue and it is likely that you require a larger optical zone than is possible to manufacture. This can be dealt with by tinting the lens so that you effectively have a smaller pupil. I had this conversation this week with a patient who decided he liked his own eye colour too much to mask it with a dark "false" iris that would cut down his pupil size. In the end its the patient's decision!

Yes, its possible to go privately and if you pm me privately, I can let you know which KeraSoft specialists are near you. However, mixing NHS treatment with private is not easy.

Lynn White

[whiteduck]

Many thanks Lynn

'Glad you responded as I have previously seen your informative postings on here.

Yes I have previously worn RGPs for 20 years and had two successful proud nebulae / scar / "pip" removal operations a few years back!

I will have a chat with my excellent optometrist at the eye hospital and ask about the IC option as I am sure this is the next route.

Will post back my response later next week.

Once again thanks
Ian

[GarethB]

I'd only been wearing RGP lenses for about 4 years before going full time to the Keraoft lenses and we found it took my eyes about 12 months to settle properly our of RGP lenses, but the biggest change was the first 3 months. That said the vision drop of was only a line or two on the chart which meant I was still within the driving standard. The following 9 months, although the topography shoed big changes, the lenses seemed to be able to accomodate this and I only lost about a line on the chart in that period.

Although the lenses are three monthly disposables, I only change the lenses as and when I feel they need changing, so six months is common, I did use one for 9 months and only changed that lens because I was aske to trial a slightly different lens design. My understanding is that it is the lens material manufacturer that dictates how frequently they should be changed, so I know what I am doing is at my own risk, but my local hospital follwed my progress regularly over the fist 12 moths because they wern't convinced the lenses would work.

[Phantom]

I am still hoping that Kerasoft IC lenses will be an option for me!
I have trialled RPG lenses and can only tollerate them for 2hrs max, before my eyes get itches or aggrovated.

Thing is with me also is my KC is only worse in 1 eye, the left which I can only see the first 2 lines on the chart (i can get to driving line when i tried hard lenses) and my right eye is practically fine i can see to the driving line without anything and the one below (if not better) with a lens in - glasses not so much of a change which they said is because the prescription is so diff in each eye they dont do anything with the left and only improve my right, hense lenses.

My eyes have also not got any worse in the past 10yrs so the KC seems stable (im 29) - im legal to drive without lenses but they said its bordered as my right eye does all the work for both - I really think Kerasoft lenses would be ideal but my hospital STILL insists the success rate for these lenses is low for them and therefore no longer offer these to patients as an alternative, which in my opinion is a disgrace - but that is something I am willing to fight them about haha

[GarethB]

Hi Phantom, I have spoken to a few people who have had the same experience as you, the way they got round it was to get the lenses fitted privatly and wear them when they next went to thir hospital yeye check up. After that, the hospital couldn't deny the lenses would not work and in most cases the hospitals went on to provide the lenses and take over that persons eye care.