contact lens question

[Tessalon]

Hi
I am a pharmacy student, and we had a recent lecture on eye care. Our teacher briefly mentioned silicone hydrogel contact lenses and how they are supposed to be good for your eyes, but he didn't go into much more detail about them. Since I do wear contact lenses myself, it got me wondering. Are some contacts better than others for lifetime wear? Can wearing contacts damage or thicken your corneas over the years- even if you care for the lenses correctly?

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[POJO]

There is no single design or single material that is unequivocally better for a patient than any other material. The advantages are relevant in certain areas but not helpful in others. I"m afraid the lecture you received glossed over a large area of knowledge regarding this subject matter.

With that said, silicone hydrogels may have theoretical advantages but they also have some wearability problems which your doctor will be able to help you with.

 

[heretic]

Sorry, I know threadjacking is wrong but it's related to SiHys.

I heard that B&L Purevision is coming out with a second, steeper BC. Is it safe to assume that we should be going steeper when first selecting a diagnostic lens like the CIBA and Vistakon lenses?

F/U question: Has anyone seen a lot of dimple veiling or SEALs as a result of fitting the flatter BC of the SiHy lenses?

 

[4Eyes]

As for your first question, I don't think it's the same because the new B&L PV is also a lower modulus lens. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but that's how it sounded. I'm still a relative n00b to the CL world.

 

[Ben Chudner]

As for your first question, I don't think it's the same because the new B&L PV is also a lower modulus lens. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but that's how it sounded. I'm still a relative n00b to the CL world.

Both base curves have the new modulus, and the goal behind the 8.3 is to give an option for doctors that had some problems with the 8.6. In my practice, the 8.6 fits the majority of patients, so it is my first choice in terms of base curve. As for SEAL's, that was an issue with some patients and the flatter Night & Day, but the steeper base curve solved that problem. I have not seen that with the PureVision. I haven't seen an issue with dimple veiling.

 

[4Eyes]

Both base curves have the new modulus, and the goal behind the 8.3 is to give an option for doctors that had some problems with the 8.6. In my practice, the 8.6 fits the majority of patients, so it is my first choice in terms of base curve. As for SEAL's, that was an issue with some patients and the flatter Night & Day, but the steeper base curve solved that problem. I have not seen that with the PureVision. I haven't seen an issue with dimple veiling.

Ah, okay, that makes more sense. Someone made it sound like the 8.3 was replacing the 8.6. That or I misheard, which is always a possibility.

 

[silverleaf]

Hi
I am a pharmacy student, and we had a recent lecture on eye care. Our teacher briefly mentioned silicone hydrogel contact lenses and how they are supposed to be good for your eyes, but he didn't go into much more detail about them. Since I do wear contact lenses myself, it got me wondering. Are some contacts better than others for lifetime wear? Can wearing contacts damage or thicken your corneas over the years- even if you care for the lenses correctly?

Do you mean if some contacts are better for extended wear than others? Because (Silicone hydrogels) SiHs are suitable to sleep in because of their ability to transmit oxygen onto the cornea. However - I think others have touched on this - they are also less flexible than other lenses, thus MAY induce more mechanical damage on the eye.

It's good to see you are taking wearing CLs seriously too - to try and avoid problems (since it sounds like you wear them a lot) it's best to care for them properly (use solutions generously) and try not to wear them for more than 10 hours if they are daily lenses. Oh, and see your optometrist regularly too (rec. once a year in Australia for those wearing disposables).