 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / General / Vision / July 2006AOSept gone? Clear Care disappearing?
I'm a loooong time AOSept user, and recently found that Clear Care had seemingly replaced it. Now I'm having difficulty finding Clear Care. What gives? I hatesssss those all-in-one solutions. They feel gooey. > I'm a loooong time AOSept user, and recently found that Clear Care had > seemingly replaced it. Now I'm having difficulty finding Clear Care. What > gives? > > I hatesssss those all-in-one solutions. They feel gooey. Ciba appears to having some distribution issues in certain regions of late. The products are still available and will be more readily available soon. Check other stores or contact your practitioner if he/she stocks the item you want. LB, O.D. Apparently there was a problem with their Canadian production facility. I am told they will be back on-stream by the end of March. Meanwhile, I am told that enough inventory is "out there" to last, particularly at the non-discounters. DrG In Europe CIBA solutions are not available anymore since december 2005, I am told this "Canadian'' problem should be solved by the end of June 2006. I am told this problem has a worldwide effect.  SignatureJan (normally Dutch spoken) I just found this out myself!!! Over the weekend, all retailers were out. I checked on-line stores and they are out of stock as well. The only place that you can find Clear Care (formerly AOSept) is via E-bay. There seems to be a manufacturing issue. We may see Clear Care back on the shelves by this summer. Who knows... I have to stock up, because I cannot use those other solutions. They make make my eyes red. Maybe we'll be competing for them on E-Bay! Good luck. I'm in SoCal, and had a pretty tough time finding ClearCare anywhere last week. Finally found a two-pack in a pharmacy. Last one on the shelf. Pretty sad state of affairs... > I just found this out myself!!! Over the weekend, all retailers were > out. I checked on-line stores and they are out of stock as well. The [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Maybe we'll be competing for them on E-Bay! Good luck. Relax, people. The CIBA products will be re-appearing shortly. If you are desperately out of a way to take care of your lenses, call your practitioner for a "starter kit" or advice on what to do in the meanwhile. LB. O.D. I have stocked up because I don't trust their PR when they say that this product will be on the market soon. This could easily slip into summer. I purchased 10 bottles from e-bay (okay, don't laugh). It's the ONLY place that you can get it right now. Walgreens.com has Clear Care as well. I just ordered some "back-up" myself... > I have stocked up because I don't trust their PR when they say that > this product will be on the market soon. This could easily slip into > summer. I purchased 10 bottles from e-bay (okay, don't laugh). It's > the ONLY place that you can get it right now. They are out now! And CIba won't say when more will be available - just got off the phone with them......... Gene > Walgreens.com has Clear Care as well. I just ordered some "back-up" > myself... [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > summer. I purchased 10 bottles from e-bay (okay, don't laugh). It's > > the ONLY place that you can get it right now. Well, that won't leave much other than some independent docs that have stock of ClearCare. I spent a fair bit of time searching online to even find some at walgreens.com. I've gotten enough to get me through the end of the year. Worst case, I go back to Opti-free after that if Ciba decides not to make ClearCare anymore. Certainly if it is truly a manufacturing issue as has been stated, they should be back up and running long before then. > They are out now! And CIba won't say when more will be available - > just got off the phone with them......... [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > > summer. I purchased 10 bottles from e-bay (okay, don't laugh). It's > > > the ONLY place that you can get it right now. You folks really need to mellow out. The products are not disappearing and will be back on the self within a few weeks, all over the world. Meanwhile, most of us docs have Patient Starter Kits in stock to help tide the worry-warts over the slump. Not to mention there are a number of alternatives, hydrogen peroxide systems and multipurpose products. Just ask your practitioner which is most appropriate for the lenses you use. --LB, O.D. LarryDoc, Thanks for your concern, but I'm not losing any sleep over this issue. Reading your post conjures up images of me in a underground bunker with canned food and ClearCare waiting to fight off the hoards of contact lens wearers who are after my ClearCare. ;-) Since you mentioned it, what other hydrogen peroxide based single step cleaners like ClearCare are widely available? I had comfort issues with Optifree (one of those multi-purpose products) and that is why my practitioner suggested ClearCare in the first place. As far as I could see in my multiple stops at retailers and drug stores, there is no other widely available hydrogen peroxide based systems. (One or two had the baskets for AOSept, but no solution. As I understand it, AOSept is the predecessor to ClearCare) And while begging starter sets off my doc might work for a little while, the solution needs to be widely available to be viable. As I said, worst case, I'll go back to Optifree, which was a less than perfect solution for me, but I can live with it. But with the stock I have on hand now, I can make it to my next doctor's appointment. > You folks really need to mellow out. The products are not disappearing > and will be back on the self within a few weeks, all over the world. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > --LB, O.D. I have in fact found something called Ultracare at Target yesterday that is a hydrogen peroxide based one step system. Here's a link http://www.amo-inc.com/site/products/ultracare.asp This is what I will use until I can find the Clear Care disinfectant again. And by the way, my opt. had no idea what other hydrogen peroxide solutions where available. As with the rest of the medical profession, they get their product education from the sales reps. > LarryDoc, > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >> >> --LB, O.D. So LarryDoc, What other alternatives to Clear Care are there? All I know of is AMO UltraCare, which makes my eyes just as red and irritated at the standard multipurpose solutions-- I suspect that little neutralizing tab has something to do with it. And my OD has no Clear Care starter sets. I stopped wearing glasses years ago, and the only pair I have has lenses that are a few diopters off. You see, my vision insurance requires me to choose between contacts or glasses. So, I've had red, itchy, blurry eyes for the past four months, and CIBA can't give me a straight reason as to when their product is going to be back on my local shelves. I'll "mellow out" when I can, literally, see straight again. Please don't minimize this. Some of us really need this stuff. I hate the fact that I'm dependent on a product made by a company that refuses to give straight answers to its customers. Larry, if you are a lens wearer at all, I bet you're one of the lucky ones that can use ReNu. Oh wait... then you'd probably be screwed too. > So LarryDoc, > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > tab has something to do with it. And my OD has no Clear Care starter > sets. He/she should have plenty. CIBA is shipping TONS of the stuff to practitioners. Whether they want it or not. > I stopped wearing glasses years ago, and the only pair I have > has lenses that are a few diopters off. You see, my vision insurance > requires me to choose between contacts or glasses. Not really. It is YOU who have decided to have........ > red itchy, blurry eyes for the past four months, and CIBA can't give me a > straight reason as to when their product is going to be back on my [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Larry, if you are a lens wearer at all, I bet you're one of the lucky > ones that can use ReNu. Oh wait... then you'd probably be screwed too. I do not mean to minimize your annoyance, anger and hostility toward the company. You are not alone. Clearly, they did not act in good faith and respond to the issue in a straight forward and timely manner. But there are alternatives. You tried Ultracare---try rinsing off the lenses with unpreserved saline prior to insertion. Should be just fine. There is one nearly identical replacement for ClearCare. It's called "OneStep" by Sauflon. Your doctor can order it for you. It is sold by practitioners only and by direct-to-patient mail from the company. It's possibly even a little less expensive. Meanwhile, AOSEPT and ClearCare should be available at larger retailers (eg: K-Mart, Walgreens, Longs, Costco) THIS WEEK. I happen to know that these retailers in many areas have received their first shipments earlier this week. When the little guys get it is anyone's guess. LB, O.D. > He/she should have plenty. CIBA is shipping TONS of the stuff to > practitioners. Whether they want it or not. That's a surprise, since one does not see any CIBA solutions in stores. How about Softwear Saline? Have they been sending that to practitioners as well? > Meanwhile, AOSEPT and ClearCare should be available at larger retailers > (eg: K-Mart, Walgreens, Longs, Costco) THIS WEEK. I happen to know that > these retailers in many areas have received their first shipments > earlier this week. When the little guys get it is anyone's guess. You wrote that message on April 20, Larry. Now it is May 12, close to a month later, and I still have not seen Ciba solutions in any stores, including those you mention. Has anyone seen these in stores yet? (And once again, is Softwear Saline included as well?) > > He/she should have plenty. CIBA is shipping TONS of the stuff to > > practitioners. Whether they want it or not. > > That's a surprise, since one does not see any CIBA solutions in stores. How > about Softwear Saline? Have they been sending that to practitioners as well? No, no saline yet but trial kits of ClearCare seem to be plentiful. I don't have a clue why that is. I'm sitting on five cases of 24 units I'd love to sell them on Ebay---think I could get a hundred bucks per box? Ethics get in the way, though. They were free to me and thus free to my patients. > > Meanwhile, AOSEPT and ClearCare should be available at larger retailers > > (eg: K-Mart, Walgreens, Longs, Costco) THIS WEEK. I happen to know that [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > including those you mention. Has anyone seen these in stores yet? (And once > again, is Softwear Saline included as well?) Yes indeed, it has been available, although not everywhere, obviously. A friend in Oregon said that the shelves were loaded one day and empty a few days days later. Same story down the road in Simi Valley. Apparently, CIBA is shipping stock of the stuff but not in sufficient quantities to satisfy the consumer's thirst. No word on Softwear Saline (my personal favorite.) I've been dispensing Sauflon One-Step as an essentially exact replacement for ClearCare. Many practices are doing the same. I hope Sauflon USA doesn't run out! The product is available only through practitioners. Same cost, perhaps a bit less. Ask your doc. LB, O.D. >No word on Softwear Saline > (my personal favorite.) Yes, I used to use Softwear Saline directly in my eyes, to wash them out. (Both when I am wearing contacts, and when I am not wearing them.) I also use non-preserved saline for that purpose. Using any preserved saline other than Ciba Softwear Saline I find uncomfortable to the eye. But the Softwear feels essentially the same as non-preserved saline. (And non-preserved saline has been harder to come by in recent months. It is still available (the boxes of three 4 oz bottles, or the 12 oz aerosol cans), but much less available than it used to be. >> > Meanwhile, AOSEPT and ClearCare should be available at larger retailers >> > (eg: K-Mart, Walgreens, Longs, Costco) THIS WEEK. I happen to know that >> > these retailers in many areas have received their first shipments >> > earlier this week. When the little guys get it is anyone's guess. I saw AOSEPT and ClearCare in a Target store a couple days ago. So, those solutions do seem to be returning. No Softwear Saline though. I can't find it on the web either. Has Ciba discontinued that product? > I saw AOSEPT and ClearCare in a Target store a couple days ago. So, those > solutions do seem to be returning. I know this is a little off topic, but what is the difference between AOSEPT and ClearCare? I read that the only difference is the bottle of saline with AOSEPT. Is this really the case? Also, can anyone give me a rough estimate on the cost of ClearCare for say a year?I recently started using Clear Care and love it, but am a little concerned aobut the yearly cost (and availability of course). > > I saw AOSEPT and ClearCare in a Target store a couple days ago. So, those > > solutions do seem to be returning. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > say a year?I recently started using Clear Care and love it, but am a > little concerned aobut the yearly cost (and availability of course). Good questions. I think it is important for people to know the true costs of (properly) using contact lenses for vision correction. ClearCare and AOSept are both hydrogen peroxide disinfection products. (Two others are available: Ultra Care and Sauflon's One Step, the later nearly identical to ClearCare and available only through practitioners or direct-to-patient mail, same cost.) ClearCare adds a "built in" cleaner. AOSept requires a separate surface cleaner, rinsed off the saline or AOSept prior to completing disinfection in the case with the platinum catalyst. ClearCare is more appropriate for one or two week disposable lenses and for those who might damage their lenses during manual surface cleaning. AOSept is best for lenses kept one month or longer or for those people whose lenses require more rigorous cleaning generally. ClearCare might cost around USD $100 per year used daily. AOSept about USD $150-$175, including the added costs of cleaning solution and saline for rinsing. (Saline is cheaper and perhaps safer than using the disinfection product for rinsing, and having saline around for rinsing lenses, eyes, cuts and scrapes in emergencies is a nice bonus.) Keep in mind that the longer replacement interval for lenses using AOSept means the total annual cost of lenses and lens care products will likely still be higher for one and two week lenses using ClearCare compared to monthly/quarterly replacement lenses using AOSept. Even so, the cost difference is not really a factor considering the health and safety issue (see below.) You can also add a separate daily cleaner to the ClearCare system a couple of time per week if your lenses need "extra cleaning". The total annual costs for those who DO NOT properly care for their lenses can be much higher, factoring in the costs of medical care to treat the resulting infections, irritations, damaged lenses, etc. LB, O.D. > The total annual costs for those who DO NOT properly care > for their lenses can be much higher, factoring in the > costs of medical care to treat the resulting infections, > irritations, damaged lenses, etc. My RGPs are made from Optimum Extra. Can I use a hydrogen peroxide system on them? I got the impression there was some doubt about using hydrogen peroxide on some RGP materials. I tried Clear Care on my soft lenses during the very short period I had them. Liked it. Got RGPs and had a huge bottle of the stuff left over. I used it to soak all my accessories in about once a month. I use a couple of rubber inserters and removers which are stored in clear plastic tubes. I'd get a small bowl, fill it with Clear Care and dump in the tubes, inserters, contact lens case and let everything soak for maybe 1/2 hour. ---- then rinse with tap water (doh) and let everything dry. What's the best way to sterilize (sort of) everything other than the lenses? Maybe just regular hydrogen peroxide? Will that kill all the nasties in a contact lens case or should I continue to throw them out every 3 months? What a about a quick sterilization for my lenses? Lets say my lenses fall out onto the floor or in the car. Anything to do a 5 minute sterilization? Conditioning would be nice but the main objective is to get them back into my eye. thanks, -Quick >ClearCare is more > appropriate for one or two week disposable lenses and for those who [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >..... Keep in > mind that the longer replacement interval for lenses using AOSept ..... Thanks again for your sharing of info, Larry! I don't really understand the statements above though. Why is AOSEPT better than Clear Care for lenses worn longer than a week or two? > >ClearCare is more > > appropriate for one or two week disposable lenses and for those who [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > I don't really understand the statements above though. Why is AOSEPT better > than Clear Care for lenses worn longer than a week or two? It's not that it's necessarily better. Because AOSept does not contain a surfactant cleaning agent it requires a separate rub-to-clean and then rinse step. Monthly/quarterly replacement lenses generally hold up better that protocol as they are (usually) more durable and the longer you keep a lens the more likely it is to need more specific cleaning. ClearCare and the similar Sauflon One Step contain a "built-in" cleaner, allowing for less physical contact with less durable lenses and can certainly be used for monthly lenses. You can use a separate cleaner with that, too. The whole idea is keep your lenses clean and disinfected. I most often recommend people use the stuff containing cleaning agents and rub the lens a bit (remembering to rinse the fingers that are going to grab lens #2 off the eye) and simply add a separate rub-n-rinse cleaner when necessary. Some people can go for quite some time without needing "a good cleaning" and others build up crud midway through the day, and that could even be the same person a different week! LB, O.D. So--if one uses a rubbing cleaner and then soaks the lenses in Clear Care, they might end up cleaner than if they were so cleaned and soaked in AOSept? The point is then that it is better to do some cleaning with a rubbing cleaner for longer-term lenses, than to only do soaking with no rubbing? If Clear Care cleans better than Aosept, why would someone want to use the latter instead? By the way, Larry, do you know why Softwear Saline is still not available? >> >ClearCare is more >> > appropriate for one or two week disposable lenses and for those who [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > LB, O.D. > So--if one uses a rubbing cleaner and then soaks the lenses in Clear Care, > they might end up cleaner than if they were so cleaned and soaked in AOSept? Not necessarily. > The point is then that it is better to do some cleaning with a rubbing > cleaner for longer-term lenses, than to only do soaking with no rubbing? As far as I'm concerned, "no rub" is not appropriate for lenses used more than a week or so, and in my mind, not appropriate for someone who experiences deposits not removed by simple soaking. There are exceptions---some folks can wear their lenses and they seem to stay pretty darn clean and deposit free for weeks! Others, like me ;-( find their lenses gunky midway through even one day. For someone who is too lazy to do real cleaning and doesn't care if their lenses are a little rough around the edges, then "no rub" at least gets the bugs dead. > If Clear Care cleans better than Aosept, why would someone want to use the > latter instead? A few folks find that AOSept "feels better" than ClearCare. Most can't tell the difference. I think the real benefit of ClearCare or Sauflon One Step is that many people can simply dump their lenses into the solution on day, perhaps rub/rinse and soak another day and use a separate rub cleaner another day when the lenses need the extra attention. Flexible system. AOSept is not so flexible. > By the way, Larry, do you know why Softwear Saline is still not available? Production issues at CIBA are a mystery to me. They claim that they will get Softwear out when they've got their ClearCare inventories to where they feel they need to be. Latest guess: year end. Softwear was my favorite saline. I miss it, too. So LarryDoc, What other alternatives to Clear Care are there? All I know of is AMO UltraCare, which makes my eyes just as red and irritated at the standard multipurpose solutions-- I suspect that little neutralizing tab has something to do with it. And my OD has no Clear Care starter sets. I stopped wearing glasses years ago, and the only pair I have has lenses that are a few diopters off. You see, my vision insurance requires me to choose between contacts or glasses. So, I've had red, itchy, blurry eyes for the past four months, and CIBA can't give me a straight reason as to when their product is going to be back on my local shelves. I'll "mellow out" when I can, literally, see straight again. Please don't minimize this. Some of us really need this stuff. I hate the fact that I'm dependent on a product made by a company that refuses to give straight answers to its customers. Larry, if you are a lens wearer at all, I bet you're one of the lucky ones that can use ReNu. Oh wait... then you'd probably be screwed too. > So LarryDoc, [snip] > I'll "mellow out" when I can, literally, see straight [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the fact that I'm dependent on a product made by a company that refuses > to give straight answers to its customers. Nicole: it seems that it would be (dramatically) in your best interests to get yourself a current pair of eyeglasses so that--if this sort of thing happens again--you WON'T be dependent on a problematic company. Because, technically, you *left yourself* "dependent on a product made by a company that refuses to give straight answers to its customers." Besides, I don't think there are many eye docs who would disagree with the notion that--once in a while--taking a break from contact lenses is a pretty good idea. > sets. I stopped wearing glasses years ago, and the only pair I have > has lenses that are a few diopters off. You see, my vision insurance [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > the fact that I'm dependent on a product made by a company that refuses > to give straight answers to its customers. What kind of cheese would you like with your whine? Have you talked to your OD? I didn't think so. Some suggestions have been made on this thread. If that doesn't work, sometimes insurance companies will do things based on medical need. SignatureDan Abel dabel@sonic.net Petaluma, California, USA |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.