CooperVision continues to streamline their portfolio of available contact lens products by dropping older low oxygen permeable hydrogel lenses in favor of newer technology.  Beginning in April, here are the changes in product availability:

Discontinued Trials, Boxes still Available
No trials means that doctors cannot start new fits for this lens, and they cannot order replacements for lost or torn lenses.  Usually discontinuing trials is a precursor to discontinuing the lens itself as a way to pull it off the market less abruptly.

• Biomedics XC (also called UltraFlex XC)  

• Frequency 55 Toric 

This time of year there are usually a lot contact lens problems popping up -- patients coming in with red eyes, infections, or just trouble wearing their lenses all day.  One of the best ways to keep your contact lenses problem-free and keep you out of your doctor's chair (and potentially out of contact lenses for a few weeks as your eye heals!) is to rethink your cleaning regimen.  Prone to infections? Overwearing your lenses, sleeping in your lenses, or not cleaning them properly are the three biggest reasons most people get contact-lens related infections.  Contact lenses drying out or causing irritation?  Again, overwearing your lenses, sleeping in your lenses, or not cleaning them properly are the three biggest reasons most people have trouble with contact lenses during some parts of the year and not others. The first two are no-brainers: throw your lenses away on time and take them out every single night.  But wouldn't it be great if there was one solution that both killed bacteria and removed surface debris to leave a fresh, clean lens for the next morning? Luckily someone has already invented the answer and it's hydrogen peroxide based contact lens solutions, but only about 11% of contact lens wearers are using this technology.  With new improvements in this technology coming out this year, there's more reasons than ever to make the switch to the product that can change how you view your contact lenses.

CLEAR CARE Gets An Upgrade

Out this fall is the latest version of CLEAR CARE, the hydrogen peroxide solution that really set the standard for safety and performance for the last few decades of lens wearers.  The solution still requires 6 hours (overnight) to neutralize, and there is no change to it's anti-microbial properties.  But the solution now includes an extra hydration polymer called "Hyrdaglyde" that helps prevent drying out of the contact lens as it goes through it's life span (be that 2 week or monthly).  This polymer is also in the new OPTI-FREE PureMoist solution.

Click over to get your $5 Coupon off a bottle of CLEAR CARE Plus

Sometimes my patients will ask me if using CLEAR CARE is too harsh for their eyes.  On the contrary, hydrogen peroxide solutions are the only preservative free lens cleaners on the market so compared to multi-purpose solutions these are way less harsh and great for sensitive patients or those with hypoallergenic needs.  One thing traditional hydrogen peroxide solutions could do though was potentially dry the lens.  Yes this solution removes debris, but that extra cleaning may wear on the moisture layers on the front and back surface of your contact lens too.  That's the concept behind the new addition of moisture "boosters" like Hydraglyde in CLEAR CARE.  Now the solution is deep cleaning, and adding back moisture to the lens at the same time.

New Smart Contact Lens Case Tells You When Your Lenses Are Clean

One of the potential knocks against hydrogen peroxide contact lens solutions is how do you know when your lenses are ready to wear again?  If you don't neutralize the peroxide long enough (for CLEAR CARE, that's 6 hours and for PeroxiClear it's 4 hours), then your lenses will sting your eyes really terribly when you try to put them back in.  The FDA has recently approved NovaBay's Intelli-Case, a contact lens case to be used with peroxide solutions that tells you where you are in the cleaning process.  When your lenses are ready, the light turns green on the top of the case, telling you it's safe to insert them in your eyes.

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The company plans to have the case widely available for purchase in 2016.  Currently, the packaging of Intelli-Case will be included in a bundle with 2 bottles of NovaBay's own hydrogen peroxide solution, NovaClear, with recommendations that each case would last for 60 days (through 2 bottles worth of solution) before needing to be changed.

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Less than 10% of contact lens wearers use RGP lenses, and this niche market hasn't seen much change in technology or price in many years in traditional lens options.  Next week prices are slated to take a sudden spike however as Valeant Pharmaceuticals institutes a price hike to their multiple RGP materials-- reports saying prices are increasing on various products from 28 to as much as 127%.  Valeant owns about 75% of the U.S. RGP market between their 2014 purchase of Bausch and Lomb (who owns the popular Boston material line) and their recent acquisition of Paragon Vision Sciences who manufacturers common lens materials Paragon HDS and Fluoroperm.  Price increases are set to take effect after October 30th. All this comes in the shadow of much larger legal issues brewing within Valeant's corporation.