What is the best contact lens solution to use for sensitive eyes?!
Question:
What is the best contact lens solution to use for sensitive eyes?
I use disposable soft lenses and change them monthly as recommended. I love wearing contacts, but I have a lot of trouble with my eyes getting dry and irritated. I've been using Renu Moisture Solution and it hasn't made a difference. Any suggestions on a solution that may help?
Answers:
My recommendation would be Clear Care based on the following studies:
- AQuify looks good. Unfortunately, according to one 1995 study, the polyhexanide has no anti-acanthamoebic activity below .0005%.
- ReNu's active ingredient (polyaminopropyl biguanide) as well as Opti-Free's (polyquaternium-1) were cited in another 1995 study as completely ineffective against acanthamoeba trophozoites and cysts. That only leaves peroxide systems as an option for soft contact lens wearers.
- "Neutralized AOSept, SOLO-Care Soft, and COMPLETE Comfort Plus were noncytotoxic by all four tests. ReNu MultiPlus and ReNu MPS inhibited the growth of cells after exposure. OPTI-FREE Express (with ALDOX) may have a higher potential for ocular irritation correlating to severe cytotoxicity in vitro." [from a 2002 study]. Cytotoxic, as in damaging to living cells. Yikes.
- "ReNu MultiPlus (Bausch & Lomb, Rochester, NY), AOSEPT (CIBA Vision Corporation, Duluth, GA), and Opti-Free Express with Aldox (Alcon Laboratories, Ft. Worth, TX) were the only lens care products that met the stand-alone criteria for all required microorganisms within their minimum recommended disinfection time." [from a 2001 study]. Given the above information, that leaves only AOSept.
- "Overall, patients using AOSept showed less corneal staining and inflammatory response than patients using ReNu and Opti-Free." [from a 1996 study]. Again, a clear winner.
- "HCE–T cells are significantly more viable when grown on HiDk SiHy contact lenses cycled in Clear Care® or Aquify MPS compared to HiDk SiHy contact lenses cycled in OPTI–FREE Express with Aldox." [from a 2005 study]. That's corneal cells, living better on lenses cleaned with Clear Care, which is (if I understand correctly) the new AOSept.
When you go to the AOSept website, Clear Care is what you see. I checked their ingredient lists and the difference between them is Clear Care has added pluronic 17R4 - a cleaning agent - and has 0.79% sodium chloride whereas AOSept has 0.85% sodium chloride.
I've been using Clear Care for almost 2 years at the recommendation of my eye doctor and have had no eye infections or solution-related irritation while using it.