In Santa Monica, California, many of the patients who come to Elander Eye Care are very interested in preventive medicine. They want to know what they should be doing to protect their vision and eye health. That’s often when Arti S. Shah, OD, FAAO, tells them that she and most of the other eye care professionals she knows choose silicone hydrogel one-day contact lenses for themselves and their families. For all the reasons that this modality appeals to eye care providers—comfort, convenience, crisp vision and a high-Dk—it should appeal to patients just as much. “If it’s something that we as professionals appreciate or value, it means we have higher regard for that modality,” she says.
She has made ACUVUE® OASYS Brand Contact Lenses 1-Day with HydraLuxe™ Technology one of her go-to lenses for a variety of
patient-centered and practice management reasons. “Patients love the comfort of ACUVUE OASYS Brand 1-Day with HydraLuxe Technology. The lens has a silky, soft feel, and patients experience sharp, crisp vision. Those are important aspects to patients, and for me, I know that they’re wearing a healthy, high-Dk lens,” she says.
There’s a great deal to love about this lens, she says. It has a large optic zone, which helps cover larger pupils in low-light situations, and the comfort is fantastic, she says. “It has a high Dk/t without the thick feel that some lenses have. HydraLuxe Technology is an enhanced network of tearlike molecules that mimic mucins and provide a smooth tear-like refractive surface that integrates with the patients’ tear film,” she says. In addition, ACUVUE® is an internationally trusted name that is known for comfort in a one-day modality. “The majority of my patients come back for a follow-up with the most positive feedback, saying the lenses feel extremely comfortable and that they don’t feel the urgency to remove their lenses at the end of the day. Patients routinely
tell me, ‘Thank you for getting me back into contacts; you’ve changed my life.’”
These factors have led this to become one of her favorite lenses. “I fit the one-day sphere and the one-day toric on a daily basis,” she says. Indeed, she loves that the ACUVUE® OASYS Brand Contact Lenses 1-Day are available in the toric design because it allows her to prescribe the most customized fit for patients who need just one toric lens or need to move from spherical to toric. They are able to maintain the comfort and wearing schedule they have come to love.
She says that about 90 percent of her contact lens patients wear one-day lenses, a huge shift from when she started in the practice 10 years ago and only 7 percent wore single-use contact lenses. For new contact lens wearers, it’s an ideal option because of health, hygiene and convenience. “Women who wear makeup love the idea that they can throw away their lenses if they get some mascara or concealer on the surface,” she says. Parents of younger patients appreciate the value in an annual supply: if the child rips or loses a contact lens, it’s the most modest inconvenience to replace it.
Because silicone hydrogel one-day lenses are so often the preferred modality of eye care professionals, Dr. Shah feels that it should be the first option presented to contact lens candidates. Some doctors may choose to hold back on that recommendation because they presume that the patient might not be willing to pay for a premium lens. In her experience, she’s found that the value outweighs the cost differential. She says the value of the one-day option increases when patients realize the benefits they can gain for so little more. “They’re not looking at a significant difference for a lens that many people find so comfortable.”
ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses are indicated for vision correction. As with any contact lens, eye problems, including corneal ulcers, can develop. Some wearers may experience mild irritation, itching or discomfort. Lenses should not be prescribed if patients have an eye infection, or experience eye discomfort, excessive tearing, vision changes, redness or other eye problems. Consult the package insert for complete information. Complete information is also available by visiting jnjvisionpro.com, or by calling 1-800-843-2020.
ACUVUE®, ACUVUE® OASYS, and HydraLuxe™ are trademarks of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
© Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. 2018
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