Are Contact Lens Cleaners the Solution or the Problem?

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), over 30 million Americans wear contact lenses. To keep those contacts clean and moist, wearers must rely on contact lens cleaning solution. But what happens when the product you trust to help care for your eyes turns out to be harmful? That very question is one currently plaguing Bausch & Lomb, makers of the popular contact lens solution ReNu with MoistureLoc.

In April of 2006, Bausch & Lomb announced it would suspend shipments of its ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens cleaning solution. This was right after the FDA warned of a rise in fungal infections among contact lens wearers. The CDC found that of 30 cases in which people had developed and infection of fungal keratitis, 28 wore contact lenses and most of those people used the ReNu product.

So just what is fungal keratitis? According to the AOA, it is a serious and painful corneal disease caused by a fungal organism. It typically occurs after trauma associated with plant matter or immuno-compromised individuals, only recently has it become an issue for healthy contact lens wearers.

Symptoms of fungal keratitis include:

Treatment for fungal keratitis usually involves topical or oral anti-fungal agents. In some cases surgical intervention may be necessary to remove fungal ulcers/lesions.

Fungal keratitis, can appear as a gray/white lesion with feathery borders. Because it can be difficult to distinguish from other fungal infections, any red or irritated eye should be examined by your optometrist immediately.

As for Bausch & Lomb? On May 15, 2006, the company issued a recall of ReNu with MoistureLoc, and the FDA and CDC are currently investigating the possible connection between Fungal keratitis and the use of ReNu contact lens cleaning solution.

If you think you may have contracted fungal keratitis as a result of using Bausch & Lomb's ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens cleaning solution, contact an attorney at Parker Scheer for a free case evaluation.

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About Attorney Eric J. Parker

Eric J. Parker is the Managing Partner and co-founder of the Boston-based trial firm Parker Scheer LLP, with offices in Massachusetts and Nevada. Mr. Parker has 20 years of active experience as one of Massachusetts’ leading civil trial lawyers, and holds the highest peer-review rating awarded to any attorney for professional skill and ethics. Mr. Parker is a member of the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America), as well as the American, Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations. Mr. Parker is an elected member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA; Elected Vice President, Massachusetts Chapter, January 2007), and is a certified member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. In 2007, Mr. Parker was appointed to the Editorial Board of Massachusetts Lawyer Weekly, the leading weekly legal newspaper serving the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Mr. Parker has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer by the publishers of Boston Magazine, every year since the distinction was first created. Mr. Parker's legal practice focuses on plaintiff-oriented tort litigation, including product liability, motor vehicle tort, medical and dental malpractice, premises liability claims, workplace sexual harassment and assault, aviation-related injuries, and wrongful death. Mr. Parker is a Graduate of Vassar College and received his Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Parker is also an FAA Certified Private Pilot, and was a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Media And Technology Charter High School (MATCH) located in Boston (Chairman 2001-2005), the goal of which is to provide inner city high school students with a successful college education.

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