VSP Vision Care and Johnson & Johnson, maker of Acuvue contact lenses, are providing an exclusive satisfaction guarantee on Acuvue lenses for VSP members, beginning May 1, 2011. VSP Vision Care is the largest U.S. provider of vision benefits, with 56 million members. Read more…

A new sweepstakes by Vision Direct and Acuvue offers Facebook fans a chance to win a free annual supply of contact lenses.

The sweepstakes launched on February 28 and runs for four weeks. One winner will be selected each week, beginning on Monday and ending on Sunday, through March 27. Read more…

Under U.S. law, all colored contacts are considered medical devices and require a contact lens prescription even if the lenses have no prescriptive power. A prescription from an eye doctor is necessary for a proper fit of the lenses.

Dr. James D. Sandefur of the Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners warns that wearing lenses that are not fitted correctly can cause eye injuries such as corneal ulcers (an infected corneal abrasion), which can lead to blindness.

Previously the FDA issued a consumer alert after the color contacts bill was passed in November 2005. Prior to the passing of the bill, non-corrective color contacts were considered cosmetic devices.

The News-Star (Monroe, La.) reported that the Board issued the first fines for violating the law to two businesses since January of this year.

Traditional hydrogel contact lens wearers are more likely to discontinue lens use if they are older than 24 years old, according to a new study. However, age did not influence silicone hydrogel contact lens wearers from halting lens use.

The study analyzed responses from 699 hydrogel contact lens wearers and 183 silicone hydrogel lens wearers between the ages of 18 and 35. Among the hydrogel lens wearers 18 to 24 years old, 4.6 percent considered giving up their contact lenses, compared to 14.2 percent of wearers 30 to 35 years old. For silicone contact lens wearers, the consideration of halting lens wear was the same in both age groups at 9 percent.

The incidence for dry eye also increased with age among the hydrogel lens wearers in the study. Dry eye was reported among 10.6 percent of the group ages 18 to 24, and 21.1 percent of the group ages 30 to 35. For silicon contact lens wearers, about 19 percent of both age groups reported dry eye.

The study was conducted by Sheila Hickson-Curran of Vistakon, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.; Chris Hunt and Graeme Young of Visioncare Research Ltd.; and Robin L. Chalmers, clinical trial consultant.

A national study is investigating whether a special type of gas permeable contact lenses called corneal reshaping lenses can help prevent nearsightedness (myopia) from worsening in children. The SMART (Stabilization of Myopia by Accelerated Reshaping Technique) Trial, headed by Chicago researchers Drs. S. Barry Eiden and Robert Davis, is examining 300 teens’ vision and children’s vision in a five-year period.

Half of the participants are in a control group and wear conventional soft contacts during the day. The testing group does not wear eyeglasses or contacts during the day, but wears customized corneal reshaping therapy lenses during sleep.

Although only on its second year, the trial’s current results are promising. The group that wore the ortho-k lenses at night showed no progression in myopia at the end of the first year. The control group had an average myopia progression of 0.5 diopters in prescription strength.

Further study as the SMART trial continues will help determine the long-term effectiveness of corneal reshaping lenses at controlling and reversing childhood myopia.

Synergeyes, Inc. (Carlsbad, CA), a manufacturer of hybrid contact lenses, has launched a new educational website for people seeking information about keratoconus and treatment of this eye disease with hybrid lenses. The site is located at TreatKeratoconus.com.

Hybrid contact lenses have characteristics of both gas permeable contacts and soft contact lenses. The lenses have a central area made of rigid gas permeable (GP) plastic, surrounded by an outer region made of a soft lens material. The lenses provide the crisp optics of a GP contact lens and wearing comfort that is comparable to soft contact lenses, according to the company.

This combination may be a good match for eyes with irregular corneal shape, such as eyes with keratoconus. The GP center of a hybrid lens vaults over the irregular shape of the keratoconic cornea to provide sharper vision, and the soft peripheral portion helps the lens remain centered on the eye and causes less irritation to the eyelids than the edges of a conventional gas permeable lens.

The website offers information about keratoconus and educational videos on how to properly apply, remove and clean hybrid contact lenses. It also has a doctor locator directory to help you find an eye doctor that fits and prescribes Synergeyes lenses.

Many U.S. contact lens wearers fail to replace their contact lenses according to the manufacturer-recommended replacement frequency (MRRF), according to a new study released by CIBA Vision.

The study evaluated the wearing habits of 1,654 contact lens wearers. Among those who wore silicone hydrogel lenses designed for two-week replacement, 59 percent wore their lenses longer than the MRRF. As a group, people who wore daily disposable contact lenses were more compliant with the manufacturer’s recommended replacement schedule. Only 15 percent of those wearing daily disposable contacts reported wearing them more than one day.

When contact lens wearers were asked why they were wearing their lenses longer than recommended, the two most frequent reasons were “forgetting which day to replace lenses” (51 percent) and “to save money” (26 percent).

The study was conducted by the Center for Contact Lens Research at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry (Ontario, Canada), in collaboration with David B. Sarwer, PhD, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Bausch & Lomb (Rochester, NY) has launched a marketing initiative with the goal of raising U.S. awareness of presbyopia and multifocal contact lenses, according to a press release issued by the company.

More than 78 million baby boomers in the United States either already are presbyopic or are becoming presbyopic, according to Bausch & Lomb. ”Three out of five presbyopic patients don’t even know multifocal contact lenses exist as an alternative to cumbersome reading glasses, and we want to change that,” said Keir Meisner, director, U.S. marketing, lenses, Bausch & Lomb.

According to the company, 75% of people who wear contact lenses or reading glasses want to try multifocal contact lenses once they learn about them.

Television and Online Ad Campaigns

The marketing initiative includes TV ads for Bausch & Lomb Multi-Focal contact lenses that began airing nationally on Saturday, March 14. The ads are appearing on the major networks, as well as on many cable networks, such as Food Network and HGTV, and syndicated programs such as Oprah, Ellen, The Martha Stewart Show, Live With Regis and Kelly, and The View.

The TV ads will be backed by an online awareness-building campaign, with a variety of placements on websites such as HGTV, Food Network, Oprah, Real Age, and Rachael Ray.

All of the advertising is scheduled to run throughout 2009.

New Website About Multifocal Contacts

Bausch & Lomb is also launching a new website this month called www.goodbyereaders.com. where consumers can learn more about presbyopia and multifocal contact lenses. The site includes an online lens demonstration with a visual illustration of how Bausch & Lomb Multi-Focal lenses work. Consumers can see how their eyes adjust to near, intermediate, and far distances using multifocal contact lenses.

Visitors to the site also can find a local eye doctor, if they don’t already have one, by using the website’s doctor locator. They can also download a free trial certificate for Bausch & Lomb Multi-Focal contact lenses.

Special Multifocal Contact Lens Promotion

Bausch & Lomb also announced an online promotion entitled, “See a New You,” which will launch on the goodbyereaders.com website on March 23rd. The promotion will highlight the fashion and lifestyle benefits of multifocal contact lenses, and visitors can take fashion and style quizzes and enter a sweepstakes to win a personal lifestyle makeover and a year’s supply of Bausch & Lomb Multi-Focal contact lenses.