Contact Lens Update

The lens wear schedule determines how many days and nights in a row the silicone hydrogel lenses should be worn without removal. This has to be carefully developed, for each patient individually, usually during the initial aftercare visits. The range may be from DW to flexible wear up to 30N EW. The actual wearing time can be shorter than the lens wear schedule prescribes. It might be necessary to advise patients to remove the lenses from time to time to clean them and rinse them if they are likely to develop deposits. The lenses should be discarded 30 days after opening the blister pack, regardless of whether they have been worn every day.
Typical lens wear schedules are:
• 6N EW: 6 nights in a row, then one night without lenses (lenses will be cleaned after removal and disinfected over night). This will be repeated over a period of a maximum of 4 weeks with one set of lenses.
• 14N EW: 14 nights in a row followed by one night without lenses (lenses will be cleaned after removal and disinfected over night). After a further 14 nights in a row, there is one night without lenses. The next day a new set of lenses will be inserted.
• 30N EW: 30 nights in a row, then one night without lenses before inserting a new pair of lenses the next day.
• Flexible wear: lenses are worn on DW basis most of the time, but can be worn over night for up to x days. Total wearing time should not exceed 30 days.
• DW: lenses are only worn in waking hours, removed before sleep, cleaned and disinfected during sleep and discarded after maximum 30 days.