Washing the hands thoroughly is very important and is probably the main
reason you have been so lucky if you have really been soaking your
contacts in saline for 20 years. Surely one of the optometrists you have
seen over that time has advised you against this practice?

As I said, you may never get an eye infection, but I sure wouldn't like
to be taking that risk.

Really?  Because I've been doing it this way for about - at least - 20
years.  And have never had an infection.  I wash my hands THOROUGHLY
before touching my lenses (putting them in -or- taking them out) -
isn't this enough to prevent infection?

You're soaking in saline? If you are, you're running a risk of serious
eye infection. I'm not saying you will 100% definitely get one, but
you're running a risk. You need some form or other of disinfection every
time you remove your lenses. If you're happy with Aosept, stick with
that - but use it fresh every night! If you can buy two big bottles for
$13 then it's hardly a huge expense.

Dom

I'm in the US.  My regimen is:
1) Saline rubs and soaks every night (same saline for one week)
2) WEEKLY enzymatic soak, followed by Aosept disinfection, followed by
a refresh of the soaking saline.

That's it.  No daily cleaner.  Saline -was- about 99 cents (US) per
bottle until recently; now up to $1.50.  Enzymatic tabs, when I could
get the generics, were about $5 for 12 weeks worth.  Aosept was the
most expensive part -- I could buy 2 big bottles at a warehouse club
for, I think, around $13?  And I don't recall how much the Aosept disc
cost.

I have my eyes checked annually, and I'm not doing any damage.  Now,
thanks to planned obsolescence, I will have to pay much more to keep
them healthy, and will still probably suffer some discomfort (I'm on a
biweekly disposable lens trial, right now, with "all in one" solution
and, after 3 days, they're already getting cloudy, even strictly
following the suggested regimen).

I know it doesn't do any good to bitch about the loss of a system that
worked perfectly for me, but it makes me feel better, so I bitch.

Where do you live?  Here in Canada, AOSept, if used with daily cleaner
and if the solution is changed daily and if protein tabs are used
weekly the annual cost would be close to $200 Cdn.

A small number of patients have exceptional tear quality and can wear
non disposable lenses without coating them up.  But the vast majority
will show significant deposits on the lenses within 60 to 90 days.
Since the advent of disposables, I see very little giant papillary
conjunctivitis and corneal staining, both problems that were common
before.

Dr Judy

Well, I was either doing something dangerously wrong, or was incredibly
lucky, because I figure my solutions costs to be only about $50-75 a
year, with the annual-replacement lenses.  And I don't think I was
doing anything wrong, because my lenses would be GOOD and my eyes okay
at the end of a year of cleaning with my method.

Part of my complaint about the lens industry is that people have
allowed themselves to be duped into thinking they HAVE to pay this
much, either for lenses or for solutions, when it is possible, with
care and research, to wear lenses safely for much less $$.  But,
because the masses were duped, the options disappear for the rest of us.

snip

You can pay  $60/year for contacts and $250/yr for care solutions or

You can pay $60/year for care solutions and $250/yr for contacts.

Dr Judy

I also have that problem, and am glad to see I'm not alone.  I haven't
tested as many as you did, but it was because I figured that none of
these "multi-purpose" (or, in my case, NO purpose) solutions were for
me.

I recently posted about the recent apparent drop of Aosept from the
market (along with generic pork-based enzymatic tablets).  My eye doc
says it's market forces (too many contact wearers too lazy to clean
their lenses, so everything's disposable, so people don't need the
thorough cleanings we're used to).  Unfortunately, that seems to leave
people like you and me screwed, as we can't use those solutions, for
some reason.

I have the added problem of preferring to pay $60 a year for my lenses,
rather than the $250 the disposables would cost me.

If anyone with this problem HAS found a multi-purposes that doesn't
"goop up" your eyes, please let us know!

I have used AOSept for decades.  The stuff works, but I do consider it
expensive and a pain in the a.s to use as part of a multi-step contact
lens maintenance regimen.

Recently, AOSept has been impossible to obtain, forcing me to "test"
other methods.  I figured it was time to give multipurpose solutions a
try.

I tried Aquify, ReNu, Opti-Free, and Complete Moisture Plus.  I found
none of them allowed me to wear my contacts comfortably through an
entire day of activity.  I have no clue why.

I tried "Clear Care" two years ago, but had similar results to the
multipurpose solutions I recently tested.

I find with the multipurpose solutions, by the end of the day my vision
becomes very blurry.  I believe this is due to build-up on the lenses,
because when I put my glasses back on I am fine.   Sometimes this 'end
of the day' buildup makes my lenses downright uncomfortable. After
soaking the lenses overnight, they are pretty much back to 'normal' the
next day.

I found the Aquify product was the most comfortable, followed by the
Complete.  But I had to remove my contacts a good 4 hours earlier with
all of them than my experience with AOSept due to deteriorating vision
quality.  I also notice when I wake up in the morning I have a
significant amount of 'debris' or 'yellowish sleep eye deposits' on my
lashes that do not exist when I use AOSept.

I tried to follow the directions as indicated for each product.  I
added an additional cleaning step using MiraFlow or equivalent, and an
extra rinse with saline before inserting.  I get the same result every
time.  Towards the end of the day my contacts are very blurry.

Am I doing something wrong?  With the popularity of multipurpose
solutions, is anyone else having this problem?  Is there some secret
trick or other product that might help, or should I just go back to the
hassle of AOSept now that it is appearing back on the shelves?

TIA