ASK THE LABS
Q&A
by Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC

AR CARE

Q: What are your best tips to tell patients on how to care for their AR lenses?

A: The best way to clean AR lenses is to never dry wipe them. AR lenses should be washed daily with water and a mild soap, rinsed thoroughly, and dried with a soft, absorbent cloth.

Isopropyl rubbing alcohol can be used along with a tissue to remove any substance not removed by mild soap and water.

In addition, eyewear should be stored in a properly sized case or placed on a stable surface lens side up when not in use.

Also, never keep eyewear on the dashboard of a car or near other intense heat sources, as some lens materials may expand and contract at different rates than the AR, which could cause crazing or cracking of the lens surface.

While most of today's premium AR is impervious to household chemicals (chlorine, hairspray, perfume, detergents), these solutions should be avoided.

If the lenses come into contact with chemicals, rinse lenses immediately and dry with a soft, absorbent cloth.

Even today's premium AR will benefit from proper care and maintenance that will help ensure a long and happy life for AR lenses.

— Tom Pfeiffer, national sales mana-ger, iCoat Company

RAILROAD TRACKS

Q: What does having "railroad tracks" mean in regard to polishing lens edges? How can our lab avoid them?

A: We haven't seen as many railroad tracks in recent years. Railroad tracks on polished edges were coming off of edgers where the grinding wheels were not correctly maintained.

When we polished the lenses, this accentuated the imperfections. If the lenses were polished enough to remove the imperfections, often lenses would be too small to fit the frames.

With new edging technology, edgers automatically polish the lens, so most of the railroad tracks have been resolved.

On older edgers, we recommend keeping the grinding wheels in good condition to help ensure better-looking lenses.

— Todd Banks, assistant general manager, Robertson Optical Laboratories, Inc., Columbia, S.C.

Check Double Check

Q: Can you recommend a quick in-office way to confirm that lenses are polarized? That quality control would really help keep our system running smoothly.

A: Utilize other polarized lenses to verify the lens in question. The tester lens can be a polarized demonstrator sample, a plano stock polarized lens, or a pair of polarized sunglasses or sunclips. Rotate one lens in front of the other, opposing them by 90 degrees. This should noticeably reduce light transmission. If polarization is still in question, rotate through 360 degrees to see if total darkness occurs.

— Ronald J. Anderson, OD, Battle Creek ,Mich., and
J. Scott Nagel, ABOC, Park West Vision, Brooklyn, N.Y.

If you have a question you'd like to have answered in Ask the Labs, send it to Karlen McLean. E-mail: mcleank@lwwvisioncare.com. Fax: 215-643-1705. An archive of past Ask the Labs columns can be found on the Eyecare Business Website at www.eyecarebusiness.com.