Renu

This forum made possible through the generous support of
SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Ryan_eyeball

Ryan_eyeball

Senior Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2005
Messages
430
Reaction score
43
I heard today that they pulled Renu with moisture loc off the market, and doing a huge recall of the CL solution finding a correlation (unsure on how true) causing fungal keratitis.
Members don't see this ad.
 
Ryan_eyeball said:
I heard today that they pulled Renu with moisture loc off the market, and doing a huge recall of the CL solution finding a correlation (unsure on how true) causing fungal keratitis.
Click to expand...


oops forgot to include a link, but i was reading a story today at the OMD that i'm interning at that had similiar news

http://thestreet.com/stocks/pharmaceuticals/10278479.html
 
Ryan_eyeball said:
oops forgot to include a link, but i was reading a story today at the OMD that i'm interning at that had similiar news

http://thestreet.com/stocks/pharmaceuticals/10278479.html
Click to expand...

last I heard they've only stopped distribution and there is no recall of things currently on shelves.

The phone in my office was ringing off the hook with patients trying to change their solution.

As of yet, there is NO direct link between these cases and the Renu solution that I am aware of. Yes, many of the cases use Renu. But, I'd say half my patients use Renu, so that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

My stance was, if it doesn't make my patients comfortable to use Renu anymore, then stop using it. We'll wait until we have more proof/evidence. So, as of today my office is out of Opti-Free and almost out of Complete. (Especially since Aquify was pulled off the market too, but no one heard about the REAL contamination)

Until then, use standard contact lens precautions:
1. WASH YOUR DAMN HANDS!
2. Dont' sleep in your contacts, this increases your risk
3. Dispose of your lenses at the PROPER time
4. Clean your lenses, store them properly, and RUB them to remove all the deposits. I know it says "no rub" , but have you read the FULL instructions? Probably not or you'd know that the "no rub" method means you'd kill half a bottle of solution.

Hopefully B&L can clear this all up with minimal damage. I can hear the lawyers salivating now.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
cpw said:
last I heard they've only stopped distribution and there is no recall of things currently on shelves.

The phone in my office was ringing off the hook with patients trying to change their solution.

As of yet, there is NO direct link between these cases and the keratitis that I am aware of. Yes, many of the cases use Renu. But, I'd say half my patients use Renu, so that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

My stance was, if it doesn't make my patients comfortable to use Renu anymore, than stop using it. We'll wait until we have more proof/evidence. So, as of today my office is out of Opti-Free and almost out of Complete. (Especially since Aquify was pulled off the market too, but no one heard about the REAL contamination)

Until then, use standard contact lens precautions:
1. WASH YOUR DAMN HANDS!
2. Dont' sleep in your contacts, this increases your risk
3. Dispose of your lenses at the PROPER time
4. Clean your lenses, store them properly, and RUB them to remove all the deposits. I know it says "no rub" , but have you read the FULL instructions? Probably not or you'd know that the "no rub" method means you'd kill half a bottle of solution.

Hopefully B&L can clear this all up with minimal damage. I can hear the lawyers salivating now.
Click to expand...

Yeah I've heard you have to wash the lenses for like 20 to 30 seconds of continuous rinse if you do not rub the lens. Sorry I wasn't sure if there was a recall until I read the link, and that they had just discontinued (hopefully, just for awhile) distribution.
 
The solution's been out for over a year.. why is it all of a sudden pulled off the market because about 30 people have reported a case of keratitis (or so the article says)?

For some reason, I feel that it may just be improper care of contact lenses.(as cpw mentioned). I hope they figure out what's going on soon and I especially hope that ReNu has nothing to do with this!

I know this is off-topic, but does anyone know when clearcare is supposed to be back on the market?
 
jc812 said:
I hope they figure out what's going on soon and I especially hope that ReNu has nothing to do with this!
Click to expand...

I'm not picking on you but you've echoed a sentiment that others have alluded to:

What's with everyone's love affair with Renu?
 
xmattODx said:
I'm not picking on you but you've echoed a sentiment that others have alluded to:

What's with everyone's love affair with Renu?
Click to expand...

trust me i have NO love affair with ReNu.
I personally like Complete.. ReNu does nothing for me. I'm just hoping that they find no ties to ReNu just because patients will be running around paranoid that they may have this infection.. just because they may have used ReNu.
 
jc812 said:
trust me i have NO love affair with ReNu.
I personally like Complete.. ReNu does nothing for me. I'm just hoping that they find no ties to ReNu just because patients will be running around paranoid that they may have this infection.. just because they may have used ReNu.
Click to expand...

Gotcha, thanks!
 
This is what my contact lens professor is saying:

"Please also note that the solutions used in Asia were effective at killing the lab strain and the clinically isolated strain of fungus, which to me would indicate it’s not the solution that is causing this problem (and no one at CDC is saying it IS). It may not even be the contact lenses.

Also note they are now recommending changing the case once a month instead of every 3 months."
 
jc812 said:
trust me i have NO love affair with ReNu.
I personally like Complete.. ReNu does nothing for me. I'm just hoping that they find no ties to ReNu just because patients will be running around paranoid that they may have this infection.. just because they may have used ReNu.
Click to expand...

ditto. I've already had to return three voice mails this morning to paniced patients. OMG I use Renu I'm going to go BLIND? Aren't I !?!! The news says I am. The news says it's the solution.

Um...no.

I personally use Clear Care. Renu's actually my least favorite solution. But, a lot of patients use it.
 
cpw said:
ditto. I've already had to return three voice mails this morning to paniced patients. OMG I use Renu I'm going to go BLIND? Aren't I !?!! The news says I am. The news says it's the solution.

Um...no.

I personally use Clear Care. Renu's actually my least favorite solution. But, a lot of patients use it.
Click to expand...

DOCTOR: "Why don't you come on down and we'll check you out and get you some new solution."

PATIENT" "Ooooo thank you, Doctor."

******* Fast forward 4 hours ************


DOCTOR: "Ok. Everything with your eye health looks fantastic. For the next few months, lets switch you over to **insert preferred CL solution X**"

DOCTOR'S RECEPTIONIST:" That will be $75 please."


What are you guys doing with all the phone consultations?
 
KHE said:
DOCTOR: "Why don't you come on down and we'll check you out and get you some new solution."

PATIENT" "Ooooo thank you, Doctor."

******* Fast forward 4 hours ************


DOCTOR: "Ok. Everything with your eye health looks fantastic. For the next few months, lets switch you over to **insert preferred CL solution X**"

DOCTOR'S RECEPTIONIST:" That will be $75 please."


What are you guys doing with all the phone consultations?
Click to expand...

I'm not preying on my patients insecurities brought on my media sensationalism to make more money for myself.
 
cpw said:
I'm not preying on my patients insecurities brought on my media sensationalism to make more money for myself.
Click to expand...

C'mon...all the cool kids are! ;)
 
Members don't see this ad :)
cpw said:
Until then, use standard contact lens precautions:
1. WASH YOUR DAMN HANDS!
2. Dont' sleep in your contacts, this increases your risk
3. Dispose of your lenses at the PROPER time
4. Clean your lenses, store them properly, and RUB them to remove all the deposits. I know it says "no rub" , but have you read the FULL instructions? Probably not or you'd know that the "no rub" method means you'd kill half a bottle of solution.
Click to expand...
Maybe the good part of all of this will be that CL wearers will become more compliant with lens care, lens replacement and follow-up exams. So many people just take CL wear for granted, so a little extra awareness of the standard precautions is a good thing.
 
cpw said:
I'm not preying on my patients insecurities brought on my media sensationalism to make more money for myself.
Click to expand...

In no way would you be preying on their insecurities unless you shrieked into the phone OH MY GOD YES! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!

When a company recalls pacemakers, and those patients have to see their cardiologists to determine if there is a problem, do you think those cardiologists work for free? I would bet $100 that they do NOT.

So if a patient phones you up and is concerned about something, ask them if they would like to be seen! It puts the patients mind at ease, it portrays you as someone who cares, and it makes some money for yourself. :eek:

Ooooo wait. Did I just say "make money for yourself?" What am I thinking?
 
KHE said:
In no way would you be preying on their insecurities unless you shrieked into the phone OH MY GOD YES! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!

When a company recalls pacemakers, and those patients have to see their cardiologists to determine if there is a problem, do you think those cardiologists work for free? I would bet $100 that they do NOT.

So if a patient phones you up and is concerned about something, ask them if they would like to be seen! It puts the patients mind at ease, it portrays you as someone who cares, and it makes some money for yourself. :eek:

Ooooo wait. Did I just say "make money for yourself?" What am I thinking?
Click to expand...
If you want to know what the medical model of optometry really is, this is it. I completely agree with Ken. If patients have an issue with their contact lenses and they want to come into the office to discuss it with the doctor, they should be charged accordingly. Docs are complaining because of decreased profitability in contact lenses and then this is handed to them and they don't charge. Amazing.
 
Ben Chudner said:
If you want to know what the medical model of optometry really is, this is it. I completely agree with Ken. If patients have an issue with their contact lenses and they want to come into the office to discuss it with the doctor, they should be charged accordingly. Docs are complaining because of decreased profitability in contact lenses and then this is handed to them and they don't charge. Amazing.
Click to expand...



Good day Ken and Ben!

I agree, with both of you. We have had patients requesting to come in this past 2 days because of the news. What is interesting is that although none so far had fungal keratitis, a few had allergic conjunctivitis which they thought was the deraded "infection". .... And YES, we did bill for an office visit. :thumbup:
 
Don't get me wrong, if patients want to come in and be evaluated I'm not turning them away. And, I am charging for office visits.

BUT, I'm not going to go through my patient charts and start calling all renu patients and demanding they come in.
 
r_salis said:
Maybe the good part of all of this will be that CL wearers will become more compliant with lens care, lens replacement and follow-up exams. So many people just take CL wear for granted, so a little extra awareness of the standard precautions is a good thing.
Click to expand...
I know nothin about optometry... im a pre-dent, and YES, i admit, i take CL wear completely for granted... I seriously would wear my contacts for a month straight until they got so dried i couldnt stand it and put a new pair in. This has opened my eyes and now for the past couple days i take them out every night, It isnt so bad :laugh: Anyways, i still dont understand this "No Rub" thing?? Can i actually rub them to clean off these deposits or what?
 
golfmontpoker said:
I know nothin about optometry... im a pre-dent, and YES, i admit, i take CL wear completely for granted... I seriously would wear my contacts for a month straight until they got so dried i couldnt stand it and put a new pair in. This has opened my eyes and now for the past couple days i take them out every night, It isnt so bad :laugh: Anyways, i still dont understand this "No Rub" thing?? Can i actually rub them to clean off these deposits or what?
Click to expand...

Yes. The "no rub" solutions tell you to "thoroughly rinse" each side of the lens for 5 seconds. Think how much solution that would use! (hence the comment earlier) So, you can use the old school method of putting solution on your lens and mechanically rubbing the germs away. ;) Otherwise, you either have to buy new solution constantly (smart on the part of the cl solution companies :laugh: ) or leave the germs and deposits on your lenses to sit in your case. Without doing some cleaning before soaking, the solution the lenses soak in would essentially be overwhelmed and unable to do an adequate job of disinfecting.
 
maxwellfish said:
It doesn't matter of you charge or not... because this article suggests going to an "ophthalmologist as opposed to an optometrist." :rolleyes:

http://www.bestsyndication.com/Arti...alth/04/041206_fungal_eye_infection_part2.htm
Click to expand...

OK...I'm about ready to burst a blood vessel in my brain. That article is ridiculous!!! On the one hand, they say to seek the advice of an OMD as opposed to an OD, and on the other hand, they quote the AOA (an OD organization, mind you) guidelines for contact lens cleaning & disinfecting. How could the advice from the AOA possibly be valid when the article says to consult an OMD for this issue!!! :eek:
 
rkl_OD2be said:
OK...I'm about ready to burst a blood vessel in my brain. That article is ridiculous!!! On the one hand, they say to seek the advice of an OMD as opposed to an OD, and on the other hand, they quote the AOA (an OD organization, mind you) guidelines for contact lens cleaning & disinfecting. How could the advice from the AOA possibly be valid when the article says to consult an OMD for this issue!!! :eek:
Click to expand...

Because of the extremely paranoid nature of america. Everyone goes to a specialist for everything these days. You'll see patients that go see "my cardiologist, my urologist, my ophthalmologist, my gastrointerologist, my dermatologist" and so on. Do you see family practitioner in there? We all know that ODs are good at what y'all do, but when people are scared, they want the doc with the most training in what's wrong with them.... in ocular path, that's the MD.
 
And the first Renu lawsuit has begun.... *sigh* I knew it was only a matter of days
 
It's official. I got an email from B&L to pull it off the shelves.

I'm going through my recent contact lens fits in the last two weeks (people still in trials) and telling them to go buy something else. I've told everyone this week to stop using it (and put it on their charts).

Joy! I'm also out of Opti-Free and the rep won't give us any more. More sales for AMO and Complete!! :D
 
cpw said:
I'm also out of Opti-Free and the rep won't give us any more.
Click to expand...

Seems like a silly thing for Alcon to do. You'd think they would want to get as many people as possible to use Opti-Free during this B&L nightmare.
 
xmattODx said:
Seems like a silly thing for Alcon to do. You'd think they would want to get as many people as possible to use Opti-Free during this B&L nightmare.
Click to expand...

that's what I thought too !! If I were the rep I'd be sending in Opti-Free by the truckload. And running PR everywhere.

.... *fade in* opti-free.. SAFE and effective for over 15 years !! *fade out*
 
xmattODx said:
Seems like a silly thing for Alcon to do. You'd think they would want to get as many people as possible to use Opti-Free during this B&L nightmare.
Click to expand...

Maybe they figure people will start using their product without giving out the free samples, which would make them more money...

Are you switching patients from all renu products? If you currently use the products yourself, are you switching to a different brand? I'm trying not to jump on the paranoid boat but it's so hard! :eek:
 
I just got an email alert from CIBA about the B&L fungal keratitis situation, which led me to to their website:

Based on discussions with health authorities in the United States and Asia, CIBA Vision is confident that our lens care products have not [<-- my emphasis] been linked to these recently reported cases. Additionally, we have seen no increase in cases of fungal infections in consumers who wear CIBA Vision lenses.
Click to expand...
...CIBA's new tagline: "We're the contact lens and lens care company whose products do *not* cause fungal keratitis!" :D
 
jc812 said:
I know this is off-topic, but does anyone know when clearcare is supposed to be back on the market?
Click to expand...

Our rep has told us that clearcare should be back on the shelves now. in my opinion, clearcare is the best solution out there, period. optifree's replinish also works well for a lot of our patients but the minute they try clearcare, most are hooked.
 
The bad thing about clear care is that you need some other type of solution to rinse the lenses off if say you accidently drop them while trying to put them in. Not to mention having to leave them in that case for hours and hours.
 
sco1styear said:
The bad thing about clear care is that you need some other type of solution to rinse the lenses off if say you accidently drop them while trying to put them in. Not to mention having to leave them in that case for hours and hours.
Click to expand...

Of course you should always have a back-up solution! My favorite is Clear Care and Complete.

As for the hours and hours, I do believe that most people let them soak while they're sleeping.. as I do myself.
 
jc812 said:
Of course you should always have a back-up solution! My favorite is Clear Care and Complete.

As for the hours and hours, I do believe that most people let them soak while they're sleeping.. as I do myself.
Click to expand...

Soaking them while sleeping is ideal unless you have a very late night or very early morning and don't have the 6 hours of soaking time. I guess that's where having a back-up solution would come into play.
 
r_salis said:
I just got an email alert from CIBA about the B&L fungal keratitis situation, which led me to to their website:


...CIBA's new tagline: "We're the contact lens and lens care company whose products do *not* cause fungal keratitis!" :D
Click to expand...

yeah, CIBA's Aquify is the solution that DID have contamination problems.... but, they're not really advertising THAT now are they ;)
 
beachbum82 said:
Our rep has told us that clearcare should be back on the shelves now. in my opinion, clearcare is the best solution out there, period. optifree's replinish also works well for a lot of our patients but the minute they try clearcare, most are hooked.
Click to expand...

I :love: clear care. My only concern with recommending it to a lot of patients is the neutralization time (especially for college students). I also make sure to warn people if they have other CL wearers in their house/dorm that they CANNOT borrow your solution to rinse contacts. the last thing you need is a few alkaline burns walking into your office. :eek:
 
VA Hopeful Dr said:
I didn't even know clearcare got pulled.... what's the story there?
Click to expand...

CIBA had a plant wide contamination problem and had to shut down solution manufacturing. But, from what I heard it was just with Aquify. Maybe they pulled Clear Care for awhile just to be safe.

If you ask a CIBA rep you'll only get out of them that their plant had a "human error". They won't elaborate.
 
cpw said:
I :love: clear care. My only concern with recommending it to a lot of patients is the neutralization time (especially for college students). I also make sure to warn people if they have other CL wearers in their house/dorm that they CANNOT borrow your solution to rinse contacts. the last thing you need is a few alkaline burns walking into your office. :eek:
Click to expand...

Oh nonsense... I accidently used clear care as a rinsing solution (yes, I am an idiot). Hurt like the dickens, but unless you do it on a regular basis you won't have real damage (and if you do it regularly, you deserve it).
 
cpw said:
I :love: clear care. My only concern with recommending it to a lot of patients is the neutralization time (especially for college students). I also make sure to warn people if they have other CL wearers in their house/dorm that they CANNOT borrow your solution to rinse contacts. the last thing you need is a few alkaline burns walking into your office. :eek:
Click to expand...

Ummm, can you elaborate on this?

Clear care is not an alkaline solution, and H2O2 is not an alkaline substance.
In fact, it decomposes faster in an alkaline environment...

Am I misunderstanding your post?
 
KHE said:
Ummm, can you elaborate on this?

Clear care is not an alkaline solution, and H2O2 is not an alkaline substance.
In fact, it decomposes faster in an alkaline environment...

Am I misunderstanding your post?
Click to expand...

I thought H2O2 was alkaline.. if I am mistaken I'm sorry. But, it DOES hurt like a mofo if put directly in the eye, either way.

Better living through chemistry...
 
cpw said:
I thought H2O2 was alkaline.. if I am mistaken I'm sorry. But, it DOES hurt like a mofo if put directly in the eye, either way.

Better living through chemistry...
Click to expand...

I don't get why people don't understand the RED bottle cap and something that says "do not put directly in eye"
 
jc812 said:
I don't get why people don't understand the RED bottle cap and something that says "do not put directly in eye"
Click to expand...

I know someone who used it and since they didn't have their contact lenses in and are a high myope, did not see or notice the warning or red cap.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

K
Renu=blindness?
Replies
3
Views
1K
stompy
S
golfmontpoker
  • Locked
RENU causing blindness??
Replies
1
Views
1K
xmattODx
X
Top