06 September 2018
To feel confident that I am recommending the right contact lens for my patients, a number of boxes require ticking. It must be a healthy option, designed to maintain ocular health over long hours of wear, day after day, year after year. It must also deliver on the sensations my patients experience directly: comfort throughout the day, clear vision and easy to handle. Meeting the needs of their busy, active lifestyles.
For my presbyopic patients I find clariti® 1 day multifocal is the lens that can tick all of these boxes. The health benefits of silicone hydrogel materials are well documented: white eyes and no hypoxic signs.1 I can be confident that this material provides all of the oxygen the cornea requires in daily wear. This is particularly relevant for multifocal designs where the profile varies in thickness across the lens. I have the confidence to recommend upgrading existing hydrogel multifocal contact lens wearers, for example, because I know that clariti® 1 day multifocal delivers more than twice the mean Dk/t across the whole lens surface.2
Upgrading conversation
Many patients are already wearing silicone hydrogel monthly replacement lenses, of course. Although they are receiving optimal oxygen delivery through their lenses, I still talk to them about upgrading to a daily disposable contact lens. There is good evidence that this modality provides the safest way of wearing contact lenses. Removing the need for a contact lens case, cleaning solutions and care regime eliminates a number of risk factors associated with undesirable complications such as microbial keratitis.3 A few of my presbyopic patients use their contact lenses on a part time basis too, which naturally makes a daily disposable modality the ideal choice.
We all appreciate that comfort is crucial to successful contact lens wear. While this is true of all contact lens wearers, I am particularly aware of the changes that occur in the tear film with age. I need to know my presbyopic patients are wearing a technology designed to maximise comfort. clariti® 1 day multifocal lenses have WetLoc® technology to lock in moisture, sustaining water content throughout the day. In my experience, I can easily deliver the same comfort when I move a patient from a hydrogel daily disposable into clariti® 1 day multifocal.
My patients also love the fact that clariti® 1 day multifocal is easy to handle. New wearers find they learn quickly when using this lens, and existing hydrogel wearers notice the ease of use too. I often find the onset of presbyopia can be a catalyst to move patients from monthly replacement into a daily disposable modality. These patients are almost always in a silicone hydrogel lens and whilst offering the equivalent breathability is important, the handling experience should not be overlooked as it can be the difference between enabling the patient to successfully adapt to lens wear rather than drop out.
Lifestyle lessons
I recognise my patients are active, busy people. They often spend time in environments such as air-conditioned offices, and prolonged periods conducting demanding visual tasks on digital devices. Knowing I can recommend a lens that can deliver the combined long-term health benefits of silicone hydrogel and daily disposables is so important. Being able to reassure my patients that their comfort, vision and handling experience will meet their expectations completes the package. That is why I feel confident recommending clariti® 1 day multifocal to my patients.
References
- Dumbleton K, Keir N et al. (2006). Objective and Subjective Responses in Patients Refitted to Daily-Wear Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses. Optom Vis Sci. 83(10):758-68, 2006
- Data on file
- Stapleton F, Edwards K et al. Risk Factors for Moderate and Severe Microbial Keratitis in Daily Wear Contact Lens Users. Ophthalmology, Volume 119 , Issue 8, 1516-1521.
