O2 Optix

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ChingoBelle - 18 Jun 2006 06:30 GMT

I'm wearing O2 Optix but my practitioner says no more than 12 hours a day or
5 days a week. But I thought these were extended wear. I don't want to wear
them to sleep in but there are the odd occasions when I'd like to be able to
wear longer than 12 hours or for more than 5 days a week. I sometimes wear an
additional 6th day but not for a full 12 hours. Is anyone able to explain
why he might take this view?

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Anon E. Muss - 18 Jun 2006 07:12 GMT

>I'm wearing O2 Optix but my practitioner says no more than 12 hours a
>day or 5 days a week. But I thought these were extended wear.

The FDA has approved them for extended wear (EW), but not everyone is
a good candidate for EW.

I typically prescribe O2OPTiX as a 14 day daily-wear lens. And daily
wear for me is, once a person has gradually and successfully built up
their wearing time, from whenever that person wakes up and until they
go to sleep. That can be 8 hours or that could be 18 hours.

Ideally, I would like a person to wait one hour after they get up and
remove them one hour before they go to sleep. But this is really
based on HEMA SCL related hypoxia concerns which are almost
non-existant with DW silicone hydrogel wear, so it's probably
unneccesary now.

>I don't want to wear them to sleep in but there are the odd occasions
>when I'd like to be able to wear longer than 12 hours or for more than
>5 days a week. I sometimes wear an additional 6th day but not for a
>full 12 hours.

Tell them what you would like to do and I would ask him why he is
prescribing them as such. That is an extremely fair question.

>Is anyone able to explain why he might take this view?

Sure, you could have a history or signs/symptoms that put you at risk
of contact lens related complications.

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ChingoBelle - 18 Jun 2006 17:17 GMT

>>I'm wearing O2 Optix but my practitioner says no more than 12 hours a
>>day or 5 days a week. But I thought these were extended wear.
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>Sure, you could have a history or signs/symptoms that put you at risk
>of contact lens related complications.

Thanks. Maybe it's because I switched to the silicone hydogels from
disposables because I found them a bit dry. I don't want to over wear
regularly, just sometimes. This week for instance, I'd like to wear them to
work and to an evening function, that means from 7am to - maybe - 2am. As a
general rule with this type of contacts, is that too much?

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Anon E. Muss - 18 Jun 2006 19:41 GMT

>I don't want to over wear regularly, just sometimes. This week for
>instance, I'd like to wear them to work and to an evening function,
>that means from 7am to - maybe - 2am. As a general rule with this type
>of contacts, is that too much?

As a *general rule*, that is not too much.

But in *your particular case*, I would follow your eye doctor's
advice.

And, as I wrote before, I would contact your eye doctor, tell him what
you would like to do and ask for his recommendations.

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Dr. Leukoma - 18 Jun 2006 13:39 GMT

> I'm wearing O2 Optix but my practitioner says no more than 12 hours a day or
> 5 days a week. But I thought these were extended wear. I don't want to wear
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> --
> Message posted via http://www.medkb.com

That lens is indeed approved for 7 days of continuous wear, and
replacement after 14 days. Many optometrists seem to be conservative
about having their patients sleep in their lenses. Is there a specific
reason why he thinks you shouldn't be sleeping in lenses, or is this a
general policy of his?

The fact is that a number of studies have demonstrated the safety of
continuous wear silicone-hydrogel lenses. Do problems still occur? Of
course. But, the risk of a permanent loss of vision from sleeping in a
conventional (hydrogel) lens is 0.026% per year. With
silicone-hydrogels, it would appear to be a factor of at least 4 times
less.

You need to have this discussion with your prescribing doctor.

DrG

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