Waverley Eye Care Centre

COMPLETE Solution RECALL

AMO has issued a voluntary recall of Complete^® MoisturePlus^TM contact lens solutions because of an association with Acanthamoeba infections when using Complete.  Acanthamoeba is a rare but serious eye infection.  The Centre for Disease Control has reported 46 cases since 2005, of these 21 of these individuals report using Complete.  Click for the press release. 

The company has instructed consumers to discontinue use and call 1-866-492-6019 for more information on the recall.

Acanthamoeba infections have long been a risk factor for contact lens wearers.  Individuals are at particular risk if they swim in fresh water with contacts on, store their contacts in unsterilized containers or use tap water to clean lenses.  We are recommending our patients to reduce the risk of Acanthamoeba infections by using ClearCare Hydrogel Peroxide solution(READ INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY), change to a daily disposable lens or eliminate other factors that would put them at risk for Acanthamoeba infections.  Please feel free to email me if you have any other questions.

Michael Nelson OD

Infiltrates

One of the most common complications with contacts is the lack of oxygen(hypoxia).  The cornea is a unique tissue because it is the only tissue in the body that absorbs it's oxygen supply directly from the air and not from blood vessels.  If you reduce the oxygen supply to the cornea by wearing contacts too long the cornea will have trouble repairing itself.  This will result in some swelling of the cornea and some difficulty with the cornea repairing itself: these changes show up as microscopic  white patches known as infiltrates.  When this occurs patients will often experience redness, sensitivity to light and intolerance to contact lenses.

Hypoxia can occur slowly over time before someone develops problems.  Usually it develops from wearing contacts most of the time for years and years, then suddenly someone develops problems.  The best way to avoid the development of hypoxia and infiltrates is to not over-wear contacts and to change to some form of silicone-hydrogel lens material.

The treatment for hypoxia and infiltrates is to discontinue contact lens wear until all signs of infiltrates resolve, which can usually mean months without contact lens wear.  When the infiltrates resolve sometimes the individual can wear contacts again, but they need to be a high oxygen lens and the person must reduce their wearing time.

Websites for more information on Infiltrates:

Infiltrate Article

Review of Optometry Article

Michael Nelson, OD