Not Comfortable in Your Contact Lenses? Clear Care Solution is a Great Alternative by Dr. Kaayla T. Garner

What is Clear Care?

Clear Care contact lens solution by Cibavision is an excellent product that is temporarily unavailable but can be replaced with Ultracare. Clear Care will be back on the shelves by June 2006. What makes Clear Care special? Two things: (1) it cleans better and (2) no preservatives come in contact with your eyes. How does it work? Your lenses are soaked in a buffered 3% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution. H2O2 is a very powerful disinfectant and it also cleans off surface deposits. In fact, it disinfects and cleans better than all-in-one soaking solutions such as Optifree, Complete, Solocare or B & L Renu.

A word of CAUTION! H2O2 can never come in contact with your eyes. This is why Clear Care has a red tip to indicate to you to not use it for rinsing. You should keep a separate bottle of saline for rinsing purposes. The contacts are stored in a case with a disc at the bottom that neutralizes the H2O2 and turns it into neutral unpreserved saline within six hours. If H2O2 does accidentally get into your eye, your eye will be red and burning. Rinse copiously with saline or tap water. A short time of contact will not cause permanent damage.

Why is Clear Care Not in Stores Lately and What is the Alternative?

Why is Clear Care impossible to find these days? There was human error on the assembly line; someone applied some lubricant to a machine incorrectly. The product was subsequently tested and met safety standards but was not up to Novartis (Cibavision solution division) standards. Several months worth of product was hence destroyed. This is an inconvenience for consumers but a comfort to know that Novartis will not compromise on quality.

What can be used until Clear Care comes back on the shelves?

Ultracare is an excellent alternative. It is also a 3% buffered H2O2 solution but a tablet is added to neutralize instead of the disc. The solution turns pink (with a special vitamin B indicator) to indicate when the H2O2 is neutralized and safe for the eyes.

What are the Real Benefits?

What can Clear Care really do for you, the contact lens wearer? In some cases it can make a huge difference in contact lens comfort. Solution intolerance is a hugely overlooked cause of lens discomfort. Anybody with sensitivity to contacts, discomfort or inability to wear them for sufficient hours should give it a try. Of course, if you do have symptoms, be sure that you have had a check up with your eye doc as well as an assessment to be sure that you are in the best contacts for your eyes. Many patients swear by Clear Care. For a huge number of people it has relieved their discomfort and been the only thing that enabled them to continue wearing contacts.

About the Author

Dr. Kaayla T. Garner has been an optometrist for 25 years in various settings from prisons to laser centers. She is well versed in vision therapy, laser surgery and contact lenses.

Dr. Garner is the owner of http://www.contactlenses-on-line.com, a website offering free contact lens fitting info.