On the one hand it's all very sensible and really raises some excellent points. For example, it stresses that choice of contact lens solutions may be just as important as choice of lenses. Reminds me, my sister recently found that Lobob for soft contacts dramatically improved her lens performance.
On the other hand, when read by laypeople I would worry that the details of a study like this get glossed over and instead people take it as encouragement to stubbornly persist in contact lens wear without sufficiently investigating and dealing with the ocular surface problems.
But anyway, I appreciate what appears to be quite a thorough discussion of how to improve contact lens prospects for people with mild dry eye.
Contact lens strategies for the patient with dry eye.
The Ocular Surface, 2007 Oct;5(4):294-307.
ABSTRACT Dry eye is the most common reason for contact lens (CL) discontinuation, and the patient with pre-existing dry eye presents particular challenges to the CL fitter. Poor tear film quality/stability, oxygen deprivation, lens deposits, and adverse reactions to CL solutions all contribute to dry eye, and lid disease, allergies, environmental factors, and medications can further hamper successful CL wear by the patient with dry eye. Health and comfort of the ocular surface is affected by the water content, ionicity, oxygen permeability, and modulus of elasticity of the lens, as well as by surface characteristics, such as protein, lipid, and mucin deposition; protein adsorption; and wettability. The choice of CL cleaning solutions with regard to action, cytotoxicity, and biocompatibility are as important as the choice of the CL itself. With appropriate management of the lid, meibomian gland, and ocular surface conditions that produce dry eye, careful selection of lenses and solutions, and vigilant follow-up, successful CL wear should be achievable for the dry eye patient.
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