Optometric Management Special Edition

2015

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10 S P E C I A L E D I T I O N 2 0 1 5 • O P T O M E T R I C M A N A G E M E N T . C O M OPTOME TRIC MANAGEMENT FE ATURE days like these are the norm for most of our patients, and they are tough on contact lens wear. Tink about it: We are asking that small piece of plas- tic to sustain great performance (both comfort and vision) across lots of diferent settings and activities, including heavy use of digital devices. It's probably no surprise that even good contact lens materials sometimes fail to meet that standard. A recent study suggests that almost 60% of contact lens wearers experience declining performance during the day, with vision, comfort and satisfaction going down as feel- ings of dryness and tiredness in- crease (Figure 1). 1 What's more, the pattern of decline isn't always steadily downward, but can fuc- tuate from one hour to the next. Tis is confusing to patients, who may not associate their inconsis- tent vision or comfort with par- ticular settings or activities. And it matters a great deal. Te more patients struggle in some situa- tions, the more likely they are to shorten the number of hours of contact lens wear or temporar- ily discontinue lenses, potentially leading to dropout. 2,3 I recently had a chance to participate, along with several colleagues from across the country, in a consumer preference study of the new lens, ACUVUE OASYS Brand Contact Lenses 1-Day with HydraLuxe Technology. A N IMPORTANT principle in my practice is that I want patients to have advanced contact lens tech- nology that meets their needs. But getting to that point is about more than the lenses themselves; it's about what I can do, related to my patients' eyes, to improve their life. It requires that I know something about my patients — about how and where they spend their time and what their challenges are. It's one thing to hang out with your family on a lazy Sunday afer a good night's rest; it's quite another to get up early, spend 8 to 10 hours staring at a computer screen, go for a jog outside afer work, and then spend some more time on a laptop or tablet in the evening. Demanding LENS PERFORMANCE IN THE REAL WORLD WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE YOUR CONTACT LENS PATIENTS' QUALITY OF LIFE? Keit h Smit hson, O.D. Figure 1.

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