Young CL User Going Blind?
Topic: Contact Lenses
The Times of Malta reports that "a 17-year-old girl [Jade] is fighting against blindness in both eyes after developing a rare contact-lens related infection. Jade’s corneas have been attacked by acanthamoeba, a very painful and potentially blinding eye parasite that hitches a ride on contact lenses and invades the vulnerable eye." 69G2T426ZD2U

The Longer the Replacement Interval, the More CL Patients Complain
Topic: Contact Lenses
Thirteen percent of patients wearing monthly replacement contact lenses returned to their eye doctor with comfort or vision complaints or required a lens refit compared to eight percent of patients wearing a two-week modality over the study period, according to a press release from the American Academy of Optometry. This translates to 62 percent more of these unscheduled doctors' visits for monthly wearers versus two-week wearers.  Visits requiring medical treatment were recorded separately and were not different between the two groups.

B+L Launches "Hi-Def" CLs, B+L Promoting Rub 'N Rinse, B+L Exec Honored
Topic: Contact Lenses

Bausch + Lomb has launched its PureVision2 with High Definition Optics contact lenses. The new monthly contact lenses reportedly will help CL wearers "overcome" several challenges, such as spherical aberration, glare, and halos while providing clear vision, optimal comfort and breathability.

The company also announced that as part of an ongoing initiative that promotes an optimal contact lens wearing experience, it's providing a rub and rinse regimen in the directions for use of its multi-purpose contact lens solutions. The initiative includes the removal of the phrase "no rub" from the product labeling of its renu fresh solution globally.

Meanwhile, ContactLenses.co.uk reported that B+L's "Joseph Barr has been presented with the American Academy of Optometry's 2010 Max Schapero Memorial Award for his contribution to the cornea and contact lens field."

B+L Suing Ciba
Topic: Contact Lenses
"The single-celled organism Acanthamoeba can cause eye infections in humans.The question of how well competing contact lens solutions kill off the little bugger is now before a federal judge, as Rochester eye-care company Bausch + Lomb Inc. is suing industry rival Ciba Vision Corp. over a Ciba ad campaign," goes to story posted on the DemocratandChronicle.com.

Prediction: CL Sales to Rise
Topic: Contact Lenses

"The volume of contact lens sales across the planet is set to return to normal in the near future after being impacted slightly by the economic downturn, one source has predicted," according to a post on ContactLenses.co.uk. "Michael Pecora, chief executive of Unilens Vision, said that the organisation's operating results for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2011 show that sales were impacted slightly."

One U.S. retailer is pushing to  help fulfill Pecora's prediction. " JCPenney Optical announced today that they will be holding their Biggest Contact Lens Sale of the year from Monday, November 15 through Tuesday, November 30, 2010."

Meanwhile VisionMonday reported that "VSP Vision Care and Bausch + Lomb launched a consumer contact lens program to provide additional rebates to VSP members, which began on Nov. 1." That can't hurt sales.

Health Care Providers Need Eye Exams to Avoid Car Accidents?
Topic: Contact Lenses
Acording to a press release from Confusion.com, health care professionals file the most car insurance claims: "GPs make more car insurance claims than any other profession, a new survey has suggested. Some 33% of GPs registered with the price comparison website confused.com claimed in the past year, according to its own research.They were closely followed by others in the medical profession, including psychologists (30%), district nurses (30%), hospital doctors (29%) and dentists (27%).Even 27% of opticians  [our emphasis] claimed for an incident in the last 12 months, followed by 26% of police officers."

RI Teenager Gets Infection from Decorative CLs
Topic: Contact Lenses

Despite the warning from optical groups and the FDA, which appeared on scores of websites and in scores of newspapers, a Rhode Island teenager still purchased decorative CLs. Here's the beginning of the story that appeared on the Providence Journal's website, Projo: "A high school student developed severe eye problems after illegally purchasing decorative contact lenses from a convenience store and wearing them at Halloween, according to the state Health Department."

Optical News from OpticalCEUs also heard that a Halloween store in Massachusetts was selling decorative CLs.

1-800 Contacts Sues
Topic: Contact Lenses

According to TwinCities.com, Ophthalmologist David Eilers of St. Pauls, MN, allegedly complained to 1-800 contacts "that the calls were a waste of his time. They interrupted business. He wondered why they couldn't just have a human call. In a lawsuit filed in federal court this week, the contact seller claims Eilers' protests soon went beyond mere complaints. The doctor 'has intentionally and willfully sought to impede his competitor, plaintiff 1-800 Contactsend_of_the_skype_highlighting, by violating state and federal statutes, engaging in intentional interference with plaintiff's prospective business relations, and purposefully committing business defamation,' the suit claims."

Old Folks, Multifocal CLs & Night Driving -- Poor Mix
Topic: Contact Lenses

"Older adults who wear multifocal contact lenses to correct problems with near vision, a very common condition that increases with age, may have greater difficulty driving at night than their counterparts who wear glasses, says a new study [published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science]," according to post on Sify. "The study suggests that wearing multifocal contact lenses resulted in significantly slower driving speeds at night than wearing progressive addition glasses, which authors reported a reduced ability to recognize road hazards." There were other findings as well.

Johnson & Johnson Expands CL Recall in UK
Topic: Contact Lenses
According to WebNewsWire, Johnson & Johnson has expanded its voluntary recall of its One Day Acuvue TruEye CLs in Britain. The h British Department of Health said that "the affected batch was manufactured in Ireland with lot numbers falling between 492237 and 492498 and between 502080 and 502269, which include the 16 batches of product announced on August 19.These numbers are the first six digits of the lot number printed at the side of the product box. According to Johnson & Johnson, detailed investigation into the incident in August revealed that the lens rinsing process on two production lines did not meet the internal production standards of the company, leading to a residual trace amount of diluent in the lenses."

Novartis Wins CL Patent Dispute with J&J
Topic: Contact Lenses
Bloomberg News reported that "Novartis AG won an appeals court bid in Paris to uphold the French portion of its European patent for extended-wear lenses, defeating claims by Johnson & Johnson to overturn the intellectual-property protection."

A Connection between Bio-inspiration and CLs?
Topic: Contact Lenses
"Bio-inspiration, the study of nature to inspire innovation, has lead to remarkable discoveries that have impacted everything from fabrics and cosmetics to building design, solar cells and x-ray technology. Even contact lenses could be said to be bio-inspired." That's the teaser for post on MiVision.

New Study Says CLs Good for Children
Topic: Contact Lenses
"The growing body of research in children’s vision correction continues to demonstrate that contact lenses provide significant benefits to children beyond simply correcting their vision," notes an article posted on TheCitizen."'This three year, multi-site study showed considerable improvement for contact lens wearing children 10 years or older in areas of appearance, participation in activities, and satisfaction with vision correction, and it remained or improved over three years,' said Jeffrey J. Walline, O.D, Ph.D., of The Ohio State University College of Optometry and leader of the Adolescent and Child Health Initiative to Encourage Vision Empowerment (ACHIEVE) Study, the largest randomized trial of its kind."

Cheaper CLs
Topic: Contact Lenses
That's the talk of ContactLenses.co.uk. "Contact lenses are becoming less expensive to buy thanks to technological breakthroughs in the field and the cheaper option of buying them online, it has been claimed. According to the Creative Identity Group, the convenience of contact lenses used to be deemed as a trade-off for the high cost of the products, but this is no longer the case, as they are now very affordable."

Another Warning about Decorative CLs--This One from the FDA
Topic: Contact Lenses

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 22, 2002 warned consumers that extended use of non-corrective, decorative contact lenses could result in serious eye injury, potentially leading to blindness.

According to the FDA, extended use of decorative contact lenses, sold to consumers without a prescription and without proper fitting by an eye care professional, could lead to permanent eye damage.

Connecticut CL Specialist Speaks Out
Topic: Contact Lenses
"Having been a contact lens specialist for 15 years, I believe the article 'Bringing Focus To Corrective Lenses' [Business, Oct. 19] misidentified the important trade-offs of shopping online for prescription glasses and contact lenses. The writer readily admits that surveys show that eye doctors and opticians deliver top patient satisfaction" goes the letter to the editor in the HartfordCourant.

Even with All the Warnings, Decorative CLs Remain a Growing Problem
Topic: Contact Lenses
"Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, Prevent Blindness Ohio and the Ohio Optical Dispensers Board are warning consumers about the danger of over-the-counter sales of decorative contact lenses during this Halloween season. According to the Optical Dispensers Board, the number of consumer complaints filed regarding the illegal sale of cosmetic contact lenses and the number of resulting cease and desist orders issued to violating businesses have shown a sharp increase in the past two years," says a press release on PressZoom. "In fiscal year 2009, the board issued 13 cease and desist orders based on consumer complaints. In FY 2010, 15 such orders were issued. So far in FY 2011 (just since July 1, 2010), 10 cease and desist orders have been issued – on pace to far surpass previous years."

Most People Don't Replace Disposable CLs
Topic: Contact Lenses
"As many as three-quarters of people who wear daily disposable contact lenses do not replace them after 24 hours, a new study has found," as noted on ContactLenses.co.uk. "Research carried out by the American Optometric Association indicates that only a quarter of people who wear daily disposable contact lenses follow the manufacturer's instructions and throw them away after a day."

CL Warning from AOA
Topic: Contact Lenses
For 40 million Americans, using contact lenses to improve vision is a way of life. While a good number adhere to the medical guidelines for wearing contacts, some do not. According to the American Optometric Association's (AOA) annual American Eye-Q® survey, many are breaking the rules and putting their health and vision at risk by doing so.

More Children Getting CLs
Topic: Contact Lenses
"More than half of optometrists introduce soft contact lenses to children between the ages of 10 and 12 years, according to a press release from the American Optometric Association, reports OSNSuperSite. "Of the 576 optometrists who participated in the Children & Contact Lenses study, 71% said they prescribe contact lenses to children 10 to 12 years old as a secondary method of vision correction. Daily disposable lenses are the most frequently prescribed contacts for this age group. In addition, 21% of respondents said they are more likely to fit children in this age group with lenses than they were a year ago." You can also click this link for more.