RGP lenses: comfort and greasy smears on lens

Hi all,

I am a new rigid gas permeable wearer. after many many fitting
attempts, my doctor was able to find lenses which fit my eyes without
causing "3 and 9o'clock irritation". I am now getting used to these
lenses. The comfort is much better than when the problems before were
occuring, but still I am constantly aware of the lens. Should this go
away if the lenses fit correctly?

The second question I have is the following. When I blink, the lenses
move on my eyes as they should. However, as the lens slides into place
a slightly greasy, foggy part of the lens moves over my pupil and
affects my vision. I have tried cleaning the lens and this doens't get
rid of the problem, but sometimes the problem goes away on it's own.
My doctor thought this was just caused by dirt on the lens, through my
handling them too much. What do other people think? Is his a common
problem? How can it be best avoided?

Also, does anyone have any experience of using Boston Simplus
solutions? do they recommend them?

Regards, and greetings to all the RGP wearers out there!

Dan

 

Hi Dan,

I tried wearing RGP's (Menicon Z) last year, and gave up on them after
10 days or so, for 2 reasons: (1) The comfort did not improve
dramatically after that time (it did get somewhat better, just not
good enough for me compared with soft lenses), and (2) I used to get a
greasy/foggy film on them similar to what you are describing, except
covering the entire lens. I can recall a couple of evenings where I
could not see well enough to drive because the entire lens was clouded
over, and I did clean these lenses properly every night. I think my
tear chemistry is probably rather unusual though, so my experiences
are probably not common (the ODs here can speak to that point better
than me).

I think certain RGP polymers, if not all of them, can be susceptible
to lipid deposits, which is what I believe was my issue. Several soft
lenses I've tried have been susceptible to the same deposits though.

Lothar

 

After you address the surface problems, below, you should expect better
comfort. Many people reach the "I dont feel them at all" stage in a
couple of weeks, but some people continue to have lens awareness.

The lens is either dirty or the surface is not wetting properly, either
due to improper cleaning or lens material defect.

Step one is to use a daily cleaner on the lenses, making certain to rub
the cleaner on both surfaces for 10-15 seconds (min) each side.
(Multipurpose products, like Simplus or the previous incarnation,
Simplicity don't count.) Store the lenses in the soaking solution for
minimum 4 hours and try again. If the smearing persists, return the
lenses so that your practitioner can use a stronger "laboratory" cleaner
and try again. If the smearing persists, the lens is defective and
should be replaced.


--LB

--
Dr. Larry Bickford, O.D.
Family Practice Eye Health & Vision Care

The Eyecare Connection
http://www.eyecarecontacts.com
larrydoc at eye-care-contacts dot com (remove -)

 

Thanks for your advice. The comforrt of the lenses has improved
greatly over the last week and I hardly feel them now. I still have
the sensation of slight greasyness on one of the lenses though, so
I'll ask my contact lens practitioner about this when I go and see
him.

Also thanks for the advice re: Simplus - it did sound too good to be
true!

Dan