Drops for sclera lenses

[alb1967]

Does anyone need to use drops over their lenses, if so how often ? My eyes have gotten SO dry in the last few months (I really cannot even produce emotional tears in the right eye). I swear I have Sjogren's but I was tested (negative) and none of my Drs seem to think I have it, ugh ...... Anyway just curious for the lenses wearers how often you still need drops. Thank everyone

[DMGD]

Hiii, im new and sorry to bump an old post but I'm curious about sclera lenses because I think i HAVE to get some eventually due to my vision (ghosting, streaks, floaters) and dry eye.

I see you said that your eyes is more dry...is that because of the scleras or the parts that are not covered? Did they help any with the pain? X

[Alex K]

I use eyedrops over my lenses, it gives temporary relief (1-2 hours), but then I find that they get worse and worse until I just have to take them out. I've tried various brands and types of drops, and I like refresh plus and retaine the best.... though neither are great. They are good for when you just need to drive home.

[Amyfloor]

Yes, I use drops over my PROSE as well but I really have the most success when I take them out and clean them with the LObob and then re-insert. I don't do that too often because I work in a really old building that has terrible lighting and I am so afraid of losing or dropping them so I usually just endure.

[norris13]

Sorry for the late response, I just joined. I have a real problem with my scleral lens clouding after a few hours. I use Lobob Wetting Rewetting over the lens. It only provides a few minutes of clear vision but its better then nothing. Like the prior post I am unable to clean them while at work but will when I get home and need to go out again. I have tried many different solutions to fill the lens with but no luck yet.

I have tried regular saline, nanotears, and every type of refresh, including celuvisc. Recently I tried Retaine CMC for one day and it worked perfect. Have others tried this? do you use CMC or MGD

[Hokucat]

Hi there. Aside from removing/cleaning/rewetting the lenses, when my eyes used to be really dry I used Tears Naturelle Free drops over my PROSE. For me these felt more natural than saline or any other drop. Before inserting my lenses, I also would put two drops of Tears Naturelle in each lens and roll it around so it covers the entire inside of the lens before filling with saline...this provided a more comfortable cushioned feeling than saline alone. Note the drops cannot be the thicker ones, because the lens still needs to be able to move around on your eyeball when you blink. Also any drop you put inside your lenses should be preservative-free. When I used to use autologouse serum tears, I also put a couple drops of this in my lenses instead of Tears Naturelle before inserting them, which helped as well, but for me Tears Naturelle provided better and longer comfort.

Even though my dryness is much less now and I no longer need to put drops over my PROSE, I continue to put a couple drops of Tears Naturelle in my lenses with the saline before inserting them.

Another thing that made and still makes my lenses more comfortable is taking the oral medication Evoxac (generic name Cevimeline). I can take a 30 mg capsule up to 3x daily as needed, each dosage providing about 4 hours of extra moisture to my eyes. This helps a great deal, especially when I am staring a lot, like driving, using the computer, etc. Most opthalmologists are not familiar with Evoxac. It's something a medical doctor or rheumatologist typically prescribes for people with dry eyes (and mouth) due to autoimmune disease, but by no means is only for these types of patients. Perhaps something to consider. Hope things get better for you all!

[Amyfloor]

Another thing that helps me is Boston Conditioning solution. I place a few drops on the outside of lens and then rub it in. I do rinse off with a bit of saline and do not put it on the inside of the lens. I My doctor at BFS recommended this.

[Hokucat]

When my eyes used to be really dry my lenses sometimes would get cloudy, and I recall I did do something like what Amyfloor mentions and it did help. I would moisten a cotton swab with Boston Conditioning solution (or sometimes saline) and then use it to rub onto my lenses for a few seconds while I was wearing them, careful not to get too close to the edges of the lenses. This was was also recommended by my PROSE lens doctor. Using a mirror of course! Someone saw me doing this one time, and got freaked out cause they though I was directly touching my eyeball with the swab :-)

[norris13]

Thanks everyone for sharing what works for them, I ordered some Tear Naturelle drops that came in yesterday, so I will see how that works for me.

I see a couple people above tried a cotton swab, did you try a whole cotton ball? Or something like a qtip, A cotton ball sounds large, but what ever works and doesn't scratch the lens

[Hokucat]

Hi norris13. I used a qtip, and it worked best when I moistened the entire cotton on the qtip. Using the qtip methodology was recommended by my PROSE doctor, and it never scratched my lenses.

I'm glad you found the Tears Naturelle. If you continue using it in the future, the exact same drops (ingredients: Dextran 70 0.1%, Hypromellose 2910 0.3%) are also marketed by Alcon under Bion Tears and now as Genteal Tears in preservative-free vials. I think Alcon might be phasing out the Tears Naturelle and Bion Tears name, but am not certain. I also saw a CVS generic version with the same ingredients at CVS the other day.

[Hokucat]

Also, when I used to put eye drops over my lenses, it worked best when I made sure the entire scleral/white part of my eye that was not covered by my lenses got wet with the drops. I would lift my top eyelid as high as I could and put three drops on the left, middle, and right ABOVE the lens edge. Similarly for the lower lid BELOW the lens edge. When I blinked this ensured complete coverage over my entire eyeball from the very top to bottom, including over the lenses. If I didn't do this, it was not as soothing and smooth, like a windshield wiper going over a dry or not wet enough windshield.

[Neerav1989]

Hello guys,

Has any post Lasik corneal neuralgia patient tried Sclerals whose tear production and tear break up time is absolutely normal ? I know sclerals work wonders with patients who have actual dryness due to less tears or faster evaporation of tears. But does it work for the patients whose damaged corneal nerves keep sending wrong signals to brain ?

[Hokucat]

Hi Neerav. I came across this article several weeks ago on using sclerals with medication in the fluid reservoir to treat corneal neuralgia. Dr. Rosenthal used Lacosimide, and Fitch who is in this forum used it successfully, but this medication is recently no longer available compounded. I think it will be available again at some point because looks like a company was approved to provide it as a generic. So perhaps some hope in the future. Maybe connect with Fitch and see what else he has tried in his sclerals or otherwise.

https://www.aao.org/eyenet/article/a...eal-neuropathy

http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/forum...ps-please-help

[Neerav1989]

Thanks a lot Hokucat for mentioning it. I did read the article and discussed with my doctor. However, it is not available in India. I am trying to get in touch with Fitch. Is there any problem with private messages ? people don't seem to reply to PMs

[Hokucat]

Try responding to his post I sent you above and letting him know you sent him a PM.