Why Buy Brand Name Contact Lens Solution?

I recently read an article extolling the virtues and explaining the science of Clear Care contact lens solution.  Within the article, its authors made the point that store brand (generic) versions of solutions are not and should not be considered interchangeable for  name brands.

Growing up, I was always taught that generic medications were the same as their brand-name counterpart, and I think a lot of people believe this to be true.  In the world of eyes, at least, such is not always the case.  Following are three reasons to buy brand name contact lens solution:

1) Inactive ingredients often vary between brand name and generic solutions, and these variations may result not only in decreased eye comfort (more irritating preservatives, etc) but also decreased efficacy for the intended task (not as effective for disinfection, etc).  One comparison would be to drink a glass of apple juice and assume you’re getting all the nutrition that you would receive from an apple – the main ingredients are the same, but sometimes the little details make a big difference!

2) Often overlooked in contact lens care is the importance of regularly changing your lens case.  Almost without fail, whenever a widespread problem with contact-lens related eye infections develops, it is found that a ridiculously high percentage of affected individuals had cases that were many months or even years old.  Brand name solutions typically give a new case with each bottle of solution, whereas many store brands do not.

3) With brand name solutions, you always know what you’re getting.  The formula doesn’t arbitrarily change, so if it works for you now, it should work for you next year (assuming you’re using it properly!).  Store brand solutions don’t have this reliability – if the company selling the solution finds a different manufacturer that they prefer for whatever reason (probably cost), they can switch whenever they want and you’ll never know.  But you may wonder why the solution all of a sudden stopped working well for you…

For more information about proper use of contact lens solution, read my previous post on the subject.

What’s in a frame: How to choose the right glasses for you

Over the years, I have come to realize that I am a lot pickier than about 98% of the general population – including opticians and other eye care professionals – when it comes to picking out the right pair of eyeglass frames.  Following are a few of my cardinal rules for finding a great fit for you.

1) Size matters!  Sometimes height (you don’t want to cut off the reading power of your bifocals), but always width.  Many of today’s trendy styles are rectangular, and I feel like I’m always fighting to get my patients into frames that aren’t wider than their face.  A frame that’s too wide will put undue pressure on the bridge of your nose and the tops of your ears, even when adjusted as well as possible.  Additionally, especially if you have a stronger nearsighted prescription, choosing a frame that’s too wide for your face will result in really thick edges on your lenses.  Not only are thick lenses cosmetically unappealing, but they can also result in more dizziness or distortion when looking through your new glasses.

2) Adjustability can matter.  I love the look of chunky plastic frames as much as the next person (and I had a couple pairs before my LASIK surgery), but keep in mind that the thick plastic arms and lack of nosepads severely limit the extent to which these frames can be adjusted to fit your face.  Does this mean you shouldn’t consider plastic frames?  Absolutely not, but you’d better make sure they fit really well to begin with, as opposed to expecting that you’ll be able to adjust away a poor fit.

3) Weight can matter.  If you’ve never experienced problems with glasses becoming uncomfortable on your face, you can disregard this section.  If you HAVE had problems, or in general don’t like having glasses on your face, go for as light a pair of glasses as you can.  Rimless is great but can be expensive and is not available in all opticals.  Half-rim glasses are a good compromise, as are plastic frames or some of the newer titanium frames.  If you know you’re really hard on your glasses, titanium and/or some of the newer styles with flexible bridge and arms would be advisable, especially over a half-rim or rimless design.

Hopefully that helps get you started!  Obviously certain other styling elements should be considered, like fair-featured individuals generally not going for fat, black frames, but I won’t get into that here.  In a future blog, I will plan to go over considerations for which bells and whistles to choose for your lenses once you get the right frame; until then, happy shopping 🙂

 

 

Related articles

• Choosing the best eyeglasses for your face shape (fashionflu.com)

Help me help you

Every so often, a patient returns to my office within just a few months of their comprehensive eye exam, complaining of blurry or uncomfortable vision with their new glasses.  Of course I am happy to double check my measurements and see if some change is in order, but I often find that the situation could have been prevented a couple of different ways.

First and foremost, whenever you have an eye exam, bring as much information as possible regarding your current and/or preferred vision correction.  As an optometrist, my goal is not only to give you the clearest vision possible, but also to make it as easy as possible for you to adapt to your new glasses.  If I have no idea what correction you’ve been using, I also have no idea if I’m making a big enough change to give you a headache.  I have known people who almost seem to hold back information – because they don’t want to feel like the doctor is simply copying a previous prescription – but that sort of thinking can come back to bite you in the end.

If you do ever find yourself in the 2-4% of patients who have problems with their new glasses, my recommendation is first to stop by the optical department before ever seeing the doctor.  I would venture to say that at least 50% of glasses re-checks I see involve problems that could have been solved by the optical department through measuring or adjusting the glasses.  Especially if you are wearing a bifocal or progressive lens, stop by the optical first.

At the end of the day, prescriptions are variable, and mistakes can be made.  If your eyes were quite dry or irritated the day of your exam, your vision may change once your eyes are feeling better.  If your doctor saw 20 other people for exams the same day as you, statistics would suggest that at least one number on one person’s prescription was slightly off.  I definitely subscribe to the theory of “measure twice, cut once,” but no one is perfect.  If you can’t wear your new glasses that you paid good money for, please come in and let us help you!  The last thing we want is for those beautiful glasses to go in a desk drawer until next year.