You can lower your risk of contact lens-related eye problems simply by following the lens replacement schedule specified by your eye doctor.

Researchers at the Centre for Contact Lens Research, University of Waterloo, evaluated the relationship between compliance with doctor-recommended lens replacement frequency and contact lens-related problems in a population of 501 contact lens wearers. All participants were patients at seven optometry practices in Canada, and all wore silicone hydrogel contact lenses. Read more…

The Cornea Research Foundation of America is conducting a national clinical study to compare visual results, patient satisfaction and quality of life issues as they relate to LASIK and contact lenses.

The Foundation plans to survey 5,000 patients who use contact lenses or LASIK for vision correction, to compare satisfaction and complication rates. Read more…

Many contact lens wearers fail to use fresh contact lens solution each time they store their contacts, choosing instead to “top off” existing multipurpose solution in their lens case. Some lens wearers also fail to recap their storage cases, which causes some of the solution to evaporate, affecting its concentration.

Because non-compliance with proper lens care is a significant factor in contact lens-related eye infections — including fungal eye infections and Acanthamoeba keratitis — researchers at Abbott Medical Optics recently investigated the impact of partial evaporation of popular multipurpose contact lens solutions on their disinfecting effectiveness. Read more…

Despite the importance of proper care of contact lens storage cases to prevent eye infections, eye care professionals have differing opinions about how contact lens wearers should clean their lens cases.

That is the finding of two researchers who published their report in this month’s issue of the journal Contact Lens Spectrum. Read more…

A new report by Research and Markets predicts the U.S. market for contact lenses and eyeglass lenses will reach $6 billion in 2016, which indicates a 4 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2009.

The global market for vision care devices is expected to exceed $23 billion in 2016, growing at a CAGR of 3 percent from 2009, when it was $20 billion. Read more…

Wearing protective goggles or close-fitting sports eyewear may reduce the risk of cold-weather dry eye and contact lens discomfort.

Did your contact lenses feel dry outdoors this winter? New research suggests cold weather may be the cause of some cases of dry eye, which can lead to contact lens discomfort.

According to a study published recently in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, a drop in the surface temperature of the eye and eyelids to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) could be responsible for the onset or worsening of dry eye. This is just a few degrees below the normal temperature of the eye and eyelids, according to the researchers. Read more…

Swimming goggles may reduce the risk for eye infections for contact lens wearers.

Swimming in any body of water — including chlorinated swimming pools — increases your risk of eye infection from bacteria and other micro-organisms. This is true particularly if you wear contact lenses when swimming, because these microscopic “bugs” can attach themselves to your contacts or get trapped under your lenses, giving them more time to cause problems. Read more…

An experimental dual-focus soft contact lens may reduce the risk of myopia progression in school-aged children.

Wearing an experimental dual-focus soft contact lens may reduce the progression of myopia in children, according to a new study.

Dr. John R. Phillips and Dr. Nicola S. Anstice, researchers in the Department of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Auckland (New Zealand), recently studied the effectiveness of an experimental dual-focus soft contact lens in reducing myopia progression, compared with a conventional soft contact lens. Read more…

Protein deposits on contact lenses. Images provided by Bausch + Lomb. Click to enlarge.

Accumulation of bacteria on the surface of contact lenses is a major cause of contact lens-related eye infections. The key to preventing this buildup is disrupting the formation of biofilms in contact lens deposits, according to a new study.

By breaking apart the structure of biofilms — complex formations of microorganisms that excrete a protective and adhesive matrix on the surface of contact lenses during wear — researchers have found that the bacteria on the lens become much more Read more…

Advanced Vision Research has announced promising results from a pilot study evaluating the effect of its TheraTears Nutrition omega-3 supplement on people suffering from dry eyes — a study that may have implications for contact lens wearers experiencing dryness symptoms. Read more…

Overnight wear of gas permeable contact lenses specially designed for corneal refractive therapy (CRT) can reduce farsightedness, according to a new study.

CRT, like orthokeratology (ortho-k), is the use of specially designed gas permeable (GP) contacts to alter the shape of the cornea and thereby temporarily reduce or eliminate refractive error. The GP lenses are worn overnight during sleep, to produce clear vision without glasses or contacts during the day. Read more…

Wearing 1-Day Acuvue TruEye disposable contacts has no clinically significant effect on the eye’s surface and is comparable to wearing no contact lenses at all in several measures of eye health, according to a new study.

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, maker of the single-use disposable contact lenses, reported that 1-Day Acuvue TruEye lenses also provided high comfort levels from morning to night throughout the study period. Read more…