According to the CDC, 30+ million people in the U.S. wear contact lenses. They’ve become such a popular choice, glasses are almost a burden. But what happens when these lenses cause discomfort, and patients must resort to wearing their specs? Mile Brujic, OD, FAAO, believes that these types of patients present an opportunity for optometrists, and merely changing the lens material or solution may not be enough.

What Affects Contact Lens Comfort?

When patients present with contact lens comfort issues, most ODs' immediate reaction is to change the lens material or try a different solution. Dr. Brujic says this works often if the discomfort is caused by an environmental factor but may not work for others. He suggests considering the ocular surface as a contributing factor, though it's often “neglected” when looking at contact lens discomfort.

Along with the ocular surface, Brujic thinks nutrition is often overlooked as a possible source of the comfort issue.

“One of the places that [nutrition] truly gets ignored is contact lenses because we’re almost two steps removed. If a contact lens patient has comfort issues, we’re thinking that it’s probably the contact lens and changing that, and then we might be thinking ocular surface. But if we’re thinking ocular surface, are we thinking appropriate nutrition?”

-Mile Brujic, OD, FAAO

What Can You Do?

Dr. Brujic brings up the investigative look EyePromise^® took at the impact nutrition can have on contact lens comfort. EyePromise recruited individuals from different practices to participate in their trial. These doctors then gave their patients a month’s supply of EyePromise EZ Tears™, an ocular nutraceutical formulated for occasional dry eye patients, to see what impact it would have on contact lens wear. The patients then filled out a survey at the end of the month.

Results

The results of the survey showed that an “overwhelming majority” experienced more comfortable wear times and felt better with their contact lenses throughout the day. From these results, Dr. Brujic has 2 main suggestions:

1. Empower contact lens wearers with a more comfortable wearing experience through appropriate nutrition.
2. Keep nutrition top-of-mind for those contact lens wearers with comfort issues.

Watch the full video and learn more about EyePromise EZ Tears and the Contact Lens Comfort Survey.