rick@rochester.UUCP (Rick Floyd) (11/15/83)
The following is from an article that appeared in the November 11, 1983 Rochester Times-Union. The section excerpted here describes some local reactions to ads on extended wear lenses: ... "It's certainly not our perogative to advertise 30-day wear is for every person," he [Ryan of Hydrocurve] said. "We believe certain people should only wear them for two days, others can wear them for two months." ... "The ads also fail to mention potential problems with soft, extended wear lenses, Reznick [a local optometrist] said. "He said the lenses are difficult to handle. They require special sterilization because they become covered with protein and minerals if left in for long periods. They provide less-sharp vision than hard contacts or eyeglasses, can last as little as four months with an average life of 13 months, are uncomfortable for hay fever suffers and can be destroyed by heavy makeup and vaseline or other eye makeup remover. "Buying extended wear contact lenses "is an expensive eye habit," said Reznick. He said it can cost between $40 and $100 a year for maintenance and eye checkups, not including frequent replacement of lenses." ... Does this sound right to people that have extended wear lenses? I'm thinking about getting extended wear contacts (I currently have glasses), but I'm not very thrilled by the above description... rick floyd uucp: (seismo | allegra)!rochester!rick arpa: rick@rochester
bdot@hogpd.UUCP (J.BARRETT) (11/16/83)
Don't believe all the bad stuff you hear about the extended wear lenses. I've
been wearing Hydrocurve II for almost 3 years now. I just replaced one that I
tore in half after having it for 2-1/2 years without a problem. It cost me{
$85.00 to replace the lens. Hydrocurve II have now been approved for continuous
wear of up to a month (it used to be 2 weeks). They are economical indeed; since
you remove them so infrequently, you go through a lot less solution and daily
cleaners. Yes, they do bother me when my hayfever acts up but my eyes always
get red and scratchy and I don't think my lenses aggravate the condition.
They are no more difficult to handle than regular contacts and as for special
cleaning some people require it and some don't. It all depends on how much
protein buildup you get. I don't have a big problem with that. An hour or so
for each lens in the enzymatic cleaner removes the protein buildup. I only
do that when I take them out at the end of the month.
Afetr going through the hassles of daily cleaning for a while, I wouldn't
trade my Hydrocurve IIs for anything!
Hope this helps,
John Barrett
AT&TIS Lincrofttomm@tekecs.UUCP (11/17/83)
---------------------------------- The $40.00 to $100.00 per year for maintenance sounds about right, but there is a comparable maintenance cost for hard lenses too. Remember, with hard lenses, you must take them out every day, and place them in a fresh vat of chemicals, while with extended wear soft lenses, you only need do this every couple of weeks. As for them lasting about 13 months, I presume that is the average amount of time it takes before somone tears one and has to replace it. I plan on being careful with mine, and hope they last considerably longer than 13 months. The vision yielded by soft lenses may be less perfect that that given by hard lenses, but the soft lenses are (in my opinion) preferable because they are less of a hassle (you don't have to take them out every night and put them in every morning, you can sleep with them on, there is no adjustment period, etc.). The vision yielded even by soft lenses is considerably better than that yielded by eyeglasses (wear the lenses for a few days, then put your glasses back on, you will be amazed at how much glasses distort things). Tom Milligan