Can Dr. Holly drops be used with soft lenses?

[20/20_Hindsight]

I tried to search the forum, but could not find if this has been answered.

Is it safe to use Nutratear or Dakrina with soft contact lenses? My doctor isn't familiar with these drops, so he thought I should use only unpreserved single vial tears.

Anyone know?

[calli66]

I believe Rebecca usually answers this one----but I'll try to remember what she says. The Holly drops are not "approved" for use with contact lenses, since that would be covered under different regulations and testing. But, some people have posted that they use Nutratear with the scleral lenses.

My opinion is this: that it's probably not harmful to use the drops with soft contacts---in the sense that they are preserved drops, and are sterile. In this respect they are similar to over-the-counter drops sold specifically for contact lens re-wetting. The single use vials (non preserved) are not sold for use with contacts either (unless there's something new on the market that I haven't heard of yet.)

Your eye doctor should be able to advise you after reading the ingredient list.

My concern would be for 2 things: one, that the ingredients would clog up the absorbent soft lens material and cause it to become saturated and uncomfortable in a shorter period of time. Clogged lenses create problems---contaminants can cause a reactive response in the eyes, making them vulnerable to infection and irritation. And two, that the active ingredients in the drops might become concentrated---held in close contact with the eye---for a longer period of time than was intended by the formulator of the drop. Since this situation has not been clinically tested, you just don't know whether there would be negative effects.

C

[Rebecca Petris]

Calli66 summarized it nicely.

I don't consider Dakrina suitable for contact lens use because of the risk (though I'm told it's relatively remote given the concentrations etc) of prolonged contact with the vitamin A. Having said that, there was one contact lens practice that routinely gave their contact lens patients Dakrina as a wetting drop and reported excellent results.

I think Dwelle is too viscous... not the right word but close enough... for contacts. I occasionally use it as a filler for my sclerals but I have not liked it over the top of the lens.

To me NutraTear is the 'perfect' lens lubricant (insert here 20-page disclaimer... this statement has not been evaluated by the FDA... this statement does not reflect the policies of The Dry Eye Company... this is not a medical claim... it's not approved for the purpose... please don't sue me... DEFINITELY ask your doctor... etc etc etc). This is where Dr. Holly's famed concepts on "wetting" come in to play. I am just waiting to scrounge together the time, energy and dollars to do some fresh tox testing on it so that I can get it approved/packaged separately for contact lens use because I think there is a real need for something effective in this category... thinking back to MY twenty years of soft contact lens wear... I hated everything available at the time.

[20/20_Hindsight]

Thank you both for your responses.

To me NutraTear is the 'perfect' lens lubricant

I really want to use NutraTear with the lens. I tried it once, and really helps with comfort. I'm worried that I will clog up the lenses or the preservative will break down the material, or other things. When I use the non-preserved, single-vial tears, I feel like I'm stripping my eyes clean of oils and tears and the lenses actually feel worse.

I will bring in the box for my doctor to read the ingredients next time I see him. I would really like to see NutraTear get approvals for soft lens where. I do use it with my hard lenses and have done so for a long time without any problems, but that material is not absorbant the way a soft lens is.

Thanks for your thoughts Rebecca and Calli.