We've already addressed the best solutions for your soft contact lenses, but for those patients wearing  specialty contact lens options, finding good information about how to care for your lenses can be quite difficult.  Synergeyes contact lenses are a unique "hybrid" option; one part soft lens and one part hard (or rigid gas permeable) lens.  The hard lens center allows for improved vision in patients with high astigmatism or irregular corneas (like those found in keratoconus).  The soft lens skirt of the lens allows for superior comfort.  These lenses last for 6 months of wear, but can easily tear or build up deposits if not cared for properly.  You can always find more information on the best way to care for your lenses at the Synergeyes website, but here is a breakdown of what I recommend.

SYNERGEYES DUETTE

The Duette lens is the company's latest design which has superior optics for "regular" corneas and up to 4 or 5 diopters of astigmatism. A multifocal design is also an option.  The company has performed studies to see which solutions operate best to keep the lens moisturized but still clean.  Click here to see a more thorough post on their findings.

1) CLEANING

The best options to clean your lens are Biotrue multipurpose solution and Aquify multipurpose solution. These two solutions provide the moisturization that the soft contact lens portion of your lens needs to prevent dryness, especially as the lens ages.  Previously Clearcare was the top recommendation, but in a large percentage of patients, the Clearcare solution will cause white deposits on the soft portion of the lens, preventing proper moisturization.  Clearcare can be used for intense cleaning, but I no longer recommend it on a nightly basis unless my patients have severe depositing issues.

2) FILLING THE LENS

Before you insert the lens into your eye, you should fill the lens with the correct saline solution to provide better fit and comfort.  I usually recommend Unisol 4 sterile saline for this purpose.  You want the solution that you fill your contact lens with to be preservative free, since preservatives can be toxic to the cornea with prolonged contact.  Preservative free artificial tears are sometimes also recommended.



SYNERGEYES CLEARKONE, SYNERGEYES KC, SYNERGEYES A

1) CLEANING
For this lens, I solely recommend Clearcare.  Synergeyes Clearkone is made for correcting the vision of patients with keratoconus.  The company also offers products like Synergeyes A that are made to correct for higher astigmatism.  These products are made with a hydrogel soft lens skirt (versus Duette which is a higher oxygen permeable silicone hydrogel), and this material responds better to the intense cleansing ability of Clearcare.


2) FILLING THE LENS
Unisol 4 saline is still a great option for filling the bowl of the lens.  Again, you really want to avoid preservatives if you are using this solution against your cornea all day.  In some cases, a thick preservative free tear like Celluvisc has even been used to help with comfort in patients that are just learning to use the lenses.  Long term the  thicker Celluvisc is usually replaced with a thinner solution to improve visual quality.

Everyday I see patients who are coming to the eye doctor for the first time in years because they noticed they just weren't seeing as well as they used to.  Well imagine what it feels like when the doctor looks at your screening tests and performs the refraction, and then tells you that you have a medical condition that will prevent you from seeing better, even with glasses!  Keratoconus is a condition that affects less than 1% of the American population, but it causes major visual issues that sometimes require intensive surgery like corneal transplants to treat.  It typically affects people between their late teens to late 30s, and usually progressively worsens as the eye continues to change with age up until our 40s, when the condition appears to stabilize.  In that period of 20 years where the cornea is susceptible to progression, people often end up needing surgery or at least speciatly contact lenses to achieve their best vision.