orthokeratology
today
Time
to Review Basic Hygiene with Patients
BY
MARJORIE J. RAH, OD, PHDWith
recent publications discussing adverse events associated with overnight
orthokeratology,
it's a good time to remind patients about lens care and handling instructions. Often
the underlying cause
of the adverse event relates to poor patient compliance.
The US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) requires that certain contact lens package inserts and instructions include
recommendations to patients. This is beneficial information that, unfortunately,
often goes unread.
Gentle Reminders
We know that good hygiene is essential
in the care and handling of all contact lenses. In fact, it may be the most important
aspect of proper lens care. Unfortunately, patients might not remember the basics
of proper hygiene.
Remind your patients that they should
wash hands thoroughly with a mild soap, rinse their hands completely and dry them
with a lint-free towel prior to touching the contact lenses. This may seem elementary,
but a gentle reminder to your patients about proper lens care and hygiene at periodic
intervals is essential in maintaining proper patient compliance.
As well as discussing proper hygiene,
at each visit remind patients that they shouldn't wear their
lenses "around the clock." Many patients believe that if they wear the lenses longer,
the effect will last longer. Unfortunately, my experience has been that patients
will reach a point of diminishing returns. In one such case in our clinic, the result
was a microbial keratitis.
Trouble with Tap Water
Several times over the past
few months, I've heard mention of the perils of using tap water with overnight orthokeratology
lenses.
The package inserts and
patient instructions that contact lens manufacturers provide for all GP lenses recommend
rinsing the lens thoroughly with clean tap water or saline following cleaning and
prior to disinfecting.
The unfortunate reality is that
Acanthamoeba resides in tap water. Among the adverse events associated with
corneal reshaping that have been reported, it seems that at least one article each
year describes patients who have Acanthamoeba keratitis.
Is this because patients are reading
the words "clean tap water"
and not keeping it in the proper context? Do they see those words and decide on
their own that it's okay to store lenses in tap water or to rinse the lenses in
tap water prior to application?
Perhaps the best solution is to
completely avoid tap water and recommend using sterile saline or multipurpose GP
solutions for rinsing.
Keep Cases Clean
Dirty contact lens cases
are another notorious source of bacterial contamination. To prevent bacterial growth
in contact lens cases, remind patients to empty the case and rinse it with fresh,
sterile rinsing solution and allow it to air dry every day. Again, avoiding tap
water for rinsing may be the best recommendation you can give your patients.
Patients should also replace
lens cases at regular intervals. Most care systems include a new lens case; therefore,
a good recommendation is to replace the contact lens case when patients purchase
new care systems.
Worth Repeating
While I realize that I've
presented no new information here, I can't stress enough the importance of continuing
education for patients.
Reality and the
literature tell us that we're not free of poor compliance and the resulting
consequences. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Dr. Rah is an
assistant professor at the New England College of Optometry where she works primarily
in the Cornea and Contact Lens Service in patient care, teaching and research.
Contact Lens Spectrum, Issue: July 2005