Lens Solution Linked to Blindness

Archives Admin · #1 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 11:52 AM

Many contact lens wearers have been forced to find new lens solutions after Bausch & Lomb stopped selling a product apparently linked to a fungal infection that can cause blindness.

Some patients worried they might have contracted the disease, two local optometrists said. But the condition is rare, so for most people the only problem is having to find a new contact lens solution.

"There is some confusion over what to do and maybe a little apprehension, the fear factor," said Framingham optometrist Tracy Hairston. "Last week when the news really broke, I would say we were getting probably about 15 or 20 (phone calls) a day....We're still getting calls today."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating 109 reports since June of Fusarium keratitis, a severe fungal infection of the cornea, in 17 states including Massachusetts. Out of 30 patients for whom data is available, 26 were using lens solutions produced by Bausch & Lomb.

While federal officials investigate, the company has asked stores to stop selling a soft contact lens solution called ReNu with MoistureLoc. The government has not definitively linked the solution to the fungal infection.

Fusarium, the fungus in question, is usually found in warm climates and tropical areas. Two people with the eye infection have been treated in Boston hospitals, but they were not residents of the city, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.

Hopkinton optometrist Steven Perryman said some of his patients worried they might have caught the fungal infection, but it was clear they were OK from the description of their symptoms.

"As long as it's not a severe red eye, then they're fine. It would be very obvious there was a problem. You could see it across the room," Perryman said.

Some patients among the recent U.S. cases have suffered significant loss of vision and needed corneal transplants, according to the Food and Drug Administration. A Malden man who contracted the disease reportedly described feeling like "somebody was pressing their finger against my eyeball."

Hairston said he has treated just one case of Fusarium, in the 1990s. Perryman said he has treated the disease in Mexico, but never in the United States.

"Although it is serious, it is treatable without much ramification. If it's not treated, it can result in vision loss or blindness, because it attacks the cornea," Hairston said.

Hairston said he checked out a couple patients with eye infections in the past week, but they weren't caused by Fusarium. For most patients who call, his office advises switching to another lens solution.

An estimated 30 million Americans wear soft contact lenses. Government health officials urged them to take precautions including:

#Wash hands with soap and water, then dry, before handling lenses.

# Keep contact lens case clean and replace every three to six months.

# Remove lenses and consult your doctor if you experience symptoms such as redness, pain, tearing, increased light sensitivity, blurry vision, discharge or swelling.

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Lens Solution Linked to Blindness

Contact Lenses