A new contact lens from Safigel that slowly releases a common eye drop lubricant — sodium hyaluronate — now is available in the United States for daily wear.

Safigel's new hyaluronate-gel contact lenses have received FDA approval.

Company promotional material says the lens “replenishes the pre- and post-lens tear film, maximizing lens comfort throughout the longest wearing times.”

Safigel lenses received FDA marketing approval in December 2009 for three versions (only the daily disposable version known as Safigel 1 Day currently is available):

• Daily disposable soft lens.
• Daily disposable toric for astigmatism, caused by an irregularly shaped eye surface.
• Daily disposable multifocal for people with presbyopia. Read more…
  

“Any contact lens you want. Anywhere in the world.”

This is the promise that CooperVision and Armed Forces Eyewear are making to members of the U.S. military on a new website at ArmedForcesContactLenses.com. (Armed Forces Eyewear is a service mark of Frames Direct, an online eyewear retailer.)

The site contains patient information about CooperVision’s portfolio of contact lenses, as well as rebate and free trial offers. And it provides access to the Armed Forces Eyewear site where patients can order the lenses and get guaranteed delivery, wherever they may be.

A percentage of each purchase of CooperVision contacts will be donated to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service fund, which supports youth services, recreation centers, and other morale and welfare programs for the military community.

A CooperVision official said in a release that the company’s wide range of contact lenses enables military eye care professionals to offer “the best fit and option for each patient.”

If you wear soft contact lenses for astigmatism, don’t be surprised if your vision gets blurry when you watch television while lying on the couch. The problem? Your contacts are rotating out of position.

In order to correct astigmatism, toric soft contacts have different lens powers in different parts of the lens, with a design feature that enables the lens rotate and stabilize in a position so the correct lens powers are aligned in front of the appropriate parts of your eye.

Design features to maintain rotational stability include a thicker, heavier portion at one point in the lens periphery, “thin zones” in specific portions of the lens or a combination of both these features.

Researchers in the UK recently conducted a study of the effect of gravity and gaze direction on toric contact lens orientation and eye chart visual acuity.

Four types of toric soft contacts were assessed: Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism (Johnson & Johnson / Vistakon), Purevision Toric (Bausch & Lomb), Air Optix for Astigmatsim (CIBA Vision) and Proclear Toric (CooperVision).

The study evaluated toric lens orientation and visual acuity when the subjects were positioned on their side and when they were sitting upright and looking in different directions of gaze.

The researchers found that all toric lenses in the study rotated as a result of change in the lens wearers’ posture and head position. Mean rotation ranged from 11 to 29 degrees, causing varying degrees of reduced visual acuity. Lens rotation and reduced visual acuity also occurred when the subjects look far up, down and to the side.

The take-home lesson: If you wear toric soft contact lenses for astigmatism, be aware that unusual posture and extreme gaze directions will cause these contacts to rotate, affecting the sharpness of your vision.

To restore clear vision, return to a normal upright position and blink a few times while looking straight ahead: This will help the lens return to its proper position.

SOURCE:  Toric lens orientation and visual acuity in non-standard conditions. Contact Lens & Anterior Eye. February 2010.

This week, Unilens Vision Inc. (Largo, Fla.) launched C-VUE Advanced Toric Multifocal contact lenses. These specialty lenses correct both astigmatism and presbyopia.

According to the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), approximately 36 percent of Americans ages 20 and older have astigmatism. Presbyopia is an age-related vision problem that affects virtually everyone some time after age 40.

Eye doctors can customize the new C-VUE Advanced Toric Multifocal lenses for their patients by specifying astigmatic and multifocal powers, multifocal zone size, lens diameter, base curve and more. The monthly disposable contact lenses also feature advanced hydration properties for all-day comfort, according to the company.

Unilens Vision Inc. offers a free trial program and a 120-day performance guarantee. The lenses are available exclusively from independent eye care professionals. Read more at www.unilens.com.