FOCUS ON CONTACT LENSES
Here comes the Patient
In this three-part series, Eyecare Business talks to both patients and their doctors about contact lens wear.
This month, we interview Ashby Jones, OD, PhD, who is in private practice in San Francisco, and soft contact lens wearer Emily Bradley.
Emily is struggling with dry eye and is concerned about wearing
contact lenses on her wedding day without experiencing discomfort, visual distortion,
and red eyes.
The following is a rundown of their interaction.
Ashby Jones, OD, PhD: The patient complained of red and irritated eyes associated with contact lens wear and computer use. Signs included diffuse conjunctival hyperemia, with the right eye worse than the left.
Emily Bradley: I'd only worn my contact lenses for two years. Now, all of the sudden—a month before my wedding—they were very uncomfortable, sometimes blurry, and my right eye got extremely red.
|
Quick Tips |
| Get clinical, then get practical. Examine and document all vision and eye health symptoms, then recommend the best solution. Back up your recommendation using eye health-related findings in terms your patients can understand. Get them excited about their contact lenses and get their understanding and agreement about the care regimen, maybe even in writing. |
GETTING STARTED
AJ: My initial advice was that we should fit new lenses
specifically designed for those with dry, uncomfortable eyes. The lens provides
superior comfort to patients in environments and occupations that
contribute
to evaporative dry eye.
ER: Dr. Jones put me in a newly released lens. It was easy: I wore the diagnostic pair, and they worked out perfectly. I can wear the new lenses with no discomfort, and I can wear them longer than before. Sometimes I don't take them out until 9 or 10 pm.
AJ: We fit the new contacts and scheduled a one week follow-up visit. At follow-up, the patient had no dry eye symptoms and no sign of conjunctival hyperemia.
ER: I still have two boxes of my previous contacts, so it was an extra expense to go with the new ones, but was way worth it. This is such a relief—to not have to take out my lenses at inconvenient times and to not want to just rip the lenses out at night to let my eyes breathe. I get longer wear, plus it's more convenient and comfortable. I don't have to think about it anymore.
AJ: On the first follow-up visit, the patient reported she no longer had to remove her contacts at the end of the work day. Emily recently referred a co-worker whom she knew to be experiencing comfort problems with her contacts.
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