CONTACT LENSES
Part-time Wear for Part-time Athletes...and Others
What do weekend warriors, ballroom dancers, and hobgoblins all have in common?
By Lee Bayusik

They're prime candidates for part-time contact lens wear, a practice builder offering benefits to both wearers and dispensers.

The growing popularity of this contact lens option is attributable in large part to the availability of new products, especially oneday disposables, says practitioner Peter Shaw-McMinn, O.D., Riverside County, Calif. "That makes virtually every patient a candidate for contact lenses," he says. With a menu of options and promises of convenience and affordability as well as versatility, the part-time alternative is enticing newcomers and former wearers alike into the contact lens fold.

LIFESTYLE OPTIONS

"The new products offer flexibility in wearing contact lenses," observes optician Cindy Elkin, owner of Point of View, an optical shop in Falls Church, Va., "and this allows people to wear them when they want to wear them." Like many successful dispensers, Elkin stresses the idea of eyewear wardrobing. "Contact lenses are another principal piece of this wardrobe," she says. "It's a lifestyle thing."

And that's the point. Whether it's a weekly basketball game, a family wedding, or an island vacation, contact lenses can provide a visual, cosmetic, or practical advantage...just for the occasion. Frequently, however, people are unaware of these advantages as a part-time option. "They're aware of disposables," notes John Larcabal, O.D., private practitioner and practice management instructor at Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO), "but may not know how the lenses can help them in particular. It's important, then, for the doctor and staff to educate people about all the options available to them and to make it clear that part-time wear is one of those options."

PART-TIME POTENTIAL

This education begins with lifestyle and history information, an entry into a client's activities, hobbies, work environment, and personal interests--all potential areas for part-time wear.

Typically, such information requests also include questions to discern a client's interest in wearing contact lenses or learning more about them--an invitation for the dispenser to discuss product advances and the benefits and options they allow, as well as to dispel outdated perceptions of wear and care requirements.

"Many people were told years ago that they couldn't wear contact lenses or were unsuccessful if they tried," says Elkin. "Now there are all kinds of materials, bifocals, astigmatic corrections, and different care products on the market that provide an option--including part-time wear--for almost everybody."

SPORTING ALTERNATIVES

Sports enthusiasts in particular welcome the option of part-time contact lens wear. "One-day disposables make a great lens for the weekend warrior," notes Maryland practitioner Barry Weiner, O.D., chair of the American Optometric Association's Contact Lens Section.

Part of the attraction lies in the performance advantages of increased peripheral vision and depth perception as well as the practical benefits of smudge-free, fog-free vision. But the ease of care associated with new products also has a strong appeal, especially to men, who have typically balked at the care routine for contact lenses.

"Before, men didn't consider contact lenses as much," says Weiner. "Now a lot of our part-time wearers are men."

Although fast-moving and team sports such as racquetball, soccer, and basketball are tailor-made for contact lenses, weekend water warriors--scuba divers, snorkelers, surfers, swimmers--are also good candidates for part-time wear. Many of these athletes appreciate the more natural visual perspective of contacts over prescription goggles. And some prefer the convenience of being able to wear plano sunglasses over contacts rather than carrying along prescription sunwear.

TIMELY DECISIONS

The versatility of occasional use lenses includes the flexibility of part-time wear programs, which are as diverse as the people who need them.

Weekend devotees and league players may wear their lenses weekly, while athletic dabblers use theirs monthly. Vacationers, on the other hand, may use one-day disposables each day for two weeks.

Rhonda Robinson, O.D., whose group practice is located in Indianapolis, reports that one patient wears eyeglasses for nine months of the year, but for the three months she summers at the beach she chooses one-day disposables.

Social activities offer another occasion for part-time contact lens wear. Ballroom dancing is a favorite pastime for many of Shaw-McMinn's older clients. "They prefer to use contact lenses when they're dancing," he says, "not so much to move around the floor as to be able to read the name badge on the person they're dancing with. They want that three-foot distance, and often it's the only time they wear contact lenses."

Playing pool is another popular activity for people, says Shaw-McMinn, and many like to wear contact lenses because they provide better focus and they don't slip down the player's nose.

PICTURE PERFECT

Cosmetics also entices people to wear contact lenses part-time. Models, lecturers, politicians, and sales people often prefer contact lenses to project an image or create stronger eye contact with an audience. Even people who enjoy wearing their eyeglasses choose contacts for special events such as weddings, proms, and reunions.

"They don't want to wear their glasses for pictures," observes Larcabal. Some clients favor contacts for evening wear only. "For example," says Elkin, "a woman who needs correction for distance and near and wears bifocals may use monovision contact lenses for evening or special occasions only."

Elkin also reports a growing market for occasional-wear tinted lenses among younger women who enjoy the fun of changing eye colors. California group practitioner Powers Griffin, O.D., says some of his full-time contact lens wearers supplement their regular lenses with part-time tints for social wear.

"They wear their clear lenses 90 percent of the time and the tinted ones 10 percent of the time."

BIFOCAL ADVANTAGE

For presbyopic clients, the advent of disposable bifocals presents another avenue for part-time wear. Larcabal reports a growing percentage of part-time wearers in the presbyopic range.

Robinson agrees. "Bifocals are a real niche for us," she says, "and a perfect example of a good part-time lens. They're ideal for such occasions as going out to dinner because they let people see both the menu and their dinner partner." Shaw-McMinn points out the benefits of modified monovision--the use of one distance and one bifocal contact--which results in easier adaptation and is a good solution for those who have had problems with traditional monovision fits.

Jacksonville, Fla. group practitioner Todd Bowman, O.D., whose part-time clients represent 30 percent of his contact lens wearers, notes that part-time bifocals provide another avenue for reintroducing older clients to contact lenses. "People who have failed with monovision or dropped out for other reasons are more likely to talk about contact lenses now because of new options such as part-time and disposable bifocals and torics."

SPREADING THE WORD

Younger clients, party-goers of all ages, and Halloween revelers enjoy the part-time fun of unusual contact lenses designs--spirals, eight balls, cateyes, red eyes. Although these lenses have a limited market, they offer a seasonal appeal for contact lens wear.

Bowman is planning some special promotions for next Halloween that will include contacting local costume shops and leaving P-O-P materials regarding these unique lenses. "We've been wanting to increase our specialty fittings," says Bowman, who is also planning tinted lens promotions with local beauty salons.

Trial lenses provided by manufacturers have provided a successful marketing tool for Weiner, who uses contacts as an adjunct to spectacles. "We offer spectacle wearers who have never tried contact lenses full time with the opportunity to try them part-time on a trial basis. We offer the free trial to those who look like good candidates for contact lenses and let them take them home and work with them for a week or two in their own environment. It's an easy sell and we've had a good response."

Clients also respond to the affordability of part-time wear. "Cost is not a problem," says Shaw-McMinn. "And if it does become a factor, the patient has a choice and can make the decision to wear the
lenses less." Griffin agrees. "At three, four, or six days a month, cost is not an issue."

OCCASIONAL WEAR ATTRACTION

Part-time wear is a contact lens option with broad appeal. Gender and age make little difference.

"What does make the difference," says Griffin, "is lifestyle." People who are really active are conducive to part-time wear." The surprise for many is how comfortable the lenses are and how well they do with them. So well, in fact, says Dr. Griffin, "that part-time often turns into full-time."

The key is to let people know that part-time is an option. Shaw-McMinn asks clients a simple question: "Are there times when you wish you could see well without wearing glasses?" When the answer is yes, those are the occasions for the part-time contact lens option. EB