Contact Lens Solutions

I would like to talk a little bit about contact lens solutions today. While most people are OK with a variety of multipurpose solutions, there are those who cannot tolerate either one brand or the other and in some cases no multipurpose solutions at all.
Recently in my practice I have begun to see an increasing number of solution related problems. Many people will have worn contacts for many years with no problems and then it seems that suddenly their "contacts" seem to be uncomfortable and irritable. Many times a change in material of contact lens is just the ticket for good ocular health and comfort. However in my practice I have been seeing more corneal toxicity reactions to these multipurpose solutions. The cornea over time in some cases builds up an intolerance to these solutions and one must reduce the exposure to these chemicals. Hydrogen peroxide based systems have been around for a while and have been a good alternative for these cases.
More recently I have been using the Purilens system. This is a system that completely eliminates all chemicals. This system uses a device with a hydrosound unit that cleans your lenses cleaner than you could ever do manually and then an ultraviolet lamp that disinfects your lenses in the same unit. The contacts are being treated in a preservative free saline solution so there is absolutely nothing to react to. All of my patients that I have put on this system absolutely loves it and they claim that their lenses have never felt better. If you have recently started having these type of symtoms you might consider the solution that you are using in addition to type of contact.