Contact lens- warning

mandi

In July this year I contracted an infection from swimming in my contacts ( been wearing them for 30 years and never told otherwise )

The infection caused two excruciating ulcers on my right eye , and as a result I was finally refered as an emergency to my local hospital for treatment . The most alarming thing about the situation was that I had already been to A&E and also seen an an optician who both advised me that it was nothing to worry about and advised me that I had only scratched my cornea .

As a result I can now no longer wear contacts , but on the plus side I still have my sight . The hospital consultant advised me to stay " well clear " of contacts as he" has seen too many people go blind or have to have their eye removed because of the same infection "..

It comes to something when even qualified professionals can miss something so serious . :whistle:

C_Mababejive

mandi wrote: »

In July this year I contracted an infection from swimming in my contacts ( been wearing them for 30 years and never told otherwise )

The infection caused two excruciating ulcers on my right eye , and as a result I was finally refered as an emergency to my local hospital for treatment . The most alarming thing about the situation was that I had already been to A&E and also seen an an optician who both advised me that it was nothing to worry about and advised me that I had only scratched my cornea .

As a result I can now no longer wear contacts , but on the plus side I still have my sight . The hospital consultant advised me to stay " well clear " of contacts as he" has seen too many people go blind or have to have their eye removed because of the same infection "..

It comes to something when even qualified professionals can miss something so serious . :whistle:

Were they dailies or reusables and could you tell us what brand /product you used to use please?

C_Mababejive

tidus wrote: »

Daysoft are based in Jersey (or the other one!) allowing them to take advantage of tax breaks. It may also be why they are able to claim that their very basic lenses are a proper subsitute for the much more abvanced ones on the market...... they are not.

Daysoft do indeed post their products from the Channel Islands but their manufacturing plant is in Blantyre ,Scotland.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=g72+0bp&ll=55.779845,-4.09869&spn=0.001774,0.004823&hnear=Blantyre+G72+0BP,+United+Kingdom&gl=uk&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=55.779845,-4.09869&panoid=wDJePKvwDFxEjgkmDM8txQ&cbp=12,207.7,,0,5.11


I have no idea how product made in Scotland ends up being shipped out of the CI's but if they are made in Scotland then at least it provides local employment and generates income in the local economy.

With regard to questions re the quality of their products...well i am open to any evidence to support this.

I am guessing that there are only a few manufacturers worldwide of specialist plant for the manufacture of CLs and therefore similar equipment is used by all of the major manufacturers. Presumably this is using injection moulding technology.

So what of the materials used? Are we saying that Daysoft uses inferior materials? true they dont make the latest Si hydrogels but then they are not in mainstream use,mainly because of price.



Thinking logically,when i first starting wearing CLs as opposed to specs, i wore RGPs for quite a few years with no issues.

I then switched to JJ Acuvues for a while but found their marketing model unacceptable i.e the close ties with Optoms and contracts plus the excessive prices.

I switched to Daysoft and have been using them for well over a decade now with no issues. I have at least one annual eye test and contact lens healthcare consultation and no issues have ever been flagged.

I have used two separate independent optoms in the past. The first one i used to pay his full professional fees i.e not just the nhs test fee as i agreed that was fair. He then sold his practice to a woman who had a dictatorial attitude so i simply stopped seeing her and now i usually go to my big Boots where i have had excellent service and no big push to buy their products.

I can understand why Optoms would wish to sell premium priced products. Its a conflict many of us face. Does the heating engineer sell a cheaper boiler or an all singing one with a bigger profit buuilt in. Does the car salesman sell a merc or a toyota aygo?

What specific evidence is their that daysofts standard lenses are inferior to other brands of standard CLs?

As i say, ive worn acuvues and DS and optically, i dont perceive any difference. In fact, i would edge toward DS. Clinically, i have never had any issues and none have ever been indicated.

nedmundo

nedmundo wrote: »

Anyway - you were going to provide some evidence to support your accusation of colusion and cartels between manufacturers and opticians............

Do go on....

Anyway, a lot of the other manufacturers have manufacturing plants in the UK. By paying their corporation tax/ VAT and employing, they are contributing a lot more into the local economy.

nedmundo

Thanks for contributing - Ron. One quick question - why then have the operation based in Jersey rather than Scotland?

nedmundo

Also - are conventional hydrogel daily disposable lenses really the healthiest modality of contact lens wear? Surely - daily disposable SiliconeHydrogel lenses are healthier - as they don't deprive the cornea of oxygen as much.

mandi

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Were they dailies or reusables and could you tell us what brand /product you used to use please?

Hi C_Mababejive


In answer to your question they were Gas Permeable reusable lenses , although not sure of the brand ( supplied by Asda ) .

Apparently users should have a check up every 6 months for the fit etc. Contrary to information I was given in previous years & so my check up was done every 2 years .

The infection as I said was extremely painful , and caused photophobia http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003041.htm & keratitis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratitis


Apparently people who wear their lenses overnight are at increased risk of developing this condition . After contracting it myself I would never ever go back to wearing lenses even if I could .. It was a scary time not knowing if I could loose my sight .

C_Mababejive

mandi wrote: »

Hi C_Mababejive


In answer to your question they were Gas Permeable reusable lenses , although not sure of the brand ( supplied by Asda ) .

Apparently users should have a check up every 6 months for the fit etc. Contrary to information I was given in previous years & so my check up was done every 2 years .

The infection as I said was extremely painful , and caused photophobia http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003041.htm & keratitis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratitis


Apparently people who wear their lenses overnight are at increased risk of developing this condition . After contracting it myself I would never ever go back to wearing lenses even if I could .. It was a scary time not knowing if I could loose my sight .

Thanks...yes i had guessed they were re-usables.

I'm glad you have all but recovered and it sounds like you had a close call.

The only re-usables i ever used were RGPs but now i am on soft lenses, i would only use a daily disposable as most cases of infection are related to re-usable/extended wear lenses.

C_Mababejive

nedmundo wrote: »

Also - are conventional hydrogel daily disposable lenses really the healthiest modality of contact lens wear? Surely - daily disposable SiliconeHydrogel lenses are healthier - as they don't deprive the cornea of oxygen as much.

Everyone who has knowledge of lens technology would agree with you Ned. Unfortunately Si Hydrogels are still being marketed as a new premium product and are for me and probably lots of others, still prohibitively expensive and for the moment are best suited to extended wear.

nedmundo

In daily disposable format - then yes, they aren't economically viable for everyday wear. In monthly replacement, daily wear, then there is little difference in cost, which makes them a no brainer.