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(MSNBC) PSA Things I would like to not have to worry about: Removing my contacts and having bits of my eye come with it   (vitals.msnbc.msn.com) divider line 49
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8255 clicks; posted to Main » on 12 Oct 2011 at 11:14 AM   |  Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook   more»   |    Get this fabulous T-Shirt and impress the methane out of your friends! shirt it!



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2011-10-12 10:22:05 AM
The Fairport, N.Y., firm has yet to heed a request from the federal Food and Drug Administration to broaden notification of problems with certain lots of its Avaira Toric contact lenses, which were recalled quietly in August because of unidentified "residue."

If we were to remove the burdensome Federal regulations that weigh down and smother this and other companies, we would free them to become as nimble and light-footed as they need to be to adequately respond to these situations. Blame the regulations, subby, not the company. The company wants to be open, it wants to recall harmful products, but the government prevents them from being able to do it in time because of the regulatory burden. Think about it, subby. Imagine you're sitting on a couch, and there's a fire. You'd just jump up and run out of the house, right?

Right. Of course you would. But here's the catch. I've dropped a 300 pound weight in your lap and chained you to it. Now jump up, subby. Now do it. Go on.

See? You can't, can you? And now you're burning alive, and now you're dead. All because I dropped a weight you couldn't lift into your lap. And don't lie to me about being able to lift 300 pounds. I know you can't. Not in time to escape that fire, anyway. Maybe you could get halfway to the door or something by dragging it behind you, but that fire is faster than that.

Well, it's the same thing here, subby. This company is trapped on a couch, too. And it can see the fire. It knows what it needs to do, it knows where that door is. But it's trapped there, smothered by the weight that the government has dropped in its lap. It can only watch, helpless, as the flames inch closer and closer to its feet and the thick smoke begins to clog the air. The company's burning, subby. It's burning alive.
 
2011-10-12 11:17:14 AM
Ow.

Well, good thing the Republicans are losing their battle to remove govt agencies that protect consumers...
 
2011-10-12 11:17:23 AM
Free market != perfect market.
 
2011-10-12 11:17:32 AM
That article makes my eyes water, and not in the soldier comes home to surprise his/her family kind of way.
 
2011-10-12 11:17:52 AM
That's the commie FDA at it again. Every American has the right to maim or kill themselves with a product because the company cannot be bothered with safety testing.
 
2011-10-12 11:19:20 AM
I can't see what you did there jpeg.
 
2011-10-12 11:19:43 AM
We'll who needs artificial vision correction implementations? I figured Darwin would have taken the lesser of our species long ago.
 
2011-10-12 11:20:04 AM
torn corneas

media.tumblr.com

How WILL I ever be able to separate those two words again???
 
2011-10-12 11:24:23 AM
Business can regulate business and monkeys can control monkeys in a banana store.
 
2011-10-12 11:27:26 AM
Pocket Ninja: The Fairport, N.Y., firm has yet to heed a request from the federal Food and Drug Administration to broaden notification of problems with certain lots of its Avaira Toric contact lenses, which were recalled quietly in August because of unidentified "residue."

If we were to remove the burdensome Federal regulations that weigh down and smother this and other companies, we would free them to become as nimble and light-footed as they need to be to adequately respond to these situations. Blame the regulations, subby, not the company. The company wants to be open, it wants to recall harmful products, but the government prevents them from being able to do it in time because of the regulatory burden. Think about it, subby. Imagine you're sitting on a couch, and there's a fire. You'd just jump up and run out of the house, right?

Right. Of course you would. But here's the catch. I've dropped a 300 pound weight in your lap and chained you to it. Now jump up, subby. Now do it. Go on.

See? You can't, can you? And now you're burning alive, and now you're dead. All because I dropped a weight you couldn't lift into your lap. And don't lie to me about being able to lift 300 pounds. I know you can't. Not in time to escape that fire, anyway. Maybe you could get halfway to the door or something by dragging it behind you, but that fire is faster than that.

Well, it's the same thing here, subby. This company is trapped on a couch, too. And it can see the fire. It knows what it needs to do, it knows where that door is. But it's trapped there, smothered by the weight that the government has dropped in its lap. It can only watch, helpless, as the flames inch closer and closer to its feet and the thick smoke begins to clog the air. The company's burning, subby. It's burning alive.


Aaaah... good to see you keep earning that green shade I've decided to paint your posts, PN! =D
 
2011-10-12 11:28:07 AM
FTA:"Next to labor, a corneal abrasion is one of the most painful things you can have," said the mother of two.

Wimp.

I passed a gall stone during a corneal abrasion.

/while playing the trumpet with a canker sore.
//in the 'Nam
 
2011-10-12 11:29:47 AM
pwhp_67

Ow.

Well, good thing the Republicans are losing their battle to remove govt agencies that protect consumers...


Good thing we have government agencies protecting consumers so cases like this never hap... oh.. wait...
 
2011-10-12 11:33:39 AM
I'm going for a LASIK consult tomorrow morning, so I'm getting a OH GOD WHEN CAN I GET LASER! out of this article.
 
2011-10-12 11:33:47 AM
Won't someone please think of the stock holders.
 
2011-10-12 11:34:47 AM
moulderx1: FTA:"Next to labor, a corneal abrasion is one of the most painful things you can have," said the mother of two.

Wimp.

I passed a gall stone during a corneal abrasion.

/while playing the trumpet with a canker sore.
//in the 'Nam


I actually passed a gal stone so hard it gave someone a corneal abrasion.
 
2011-10-12 11:41:01 AM
Torn Cornea is a misleading term. Corneal Abrasion is far more accurate. They are very common, but unusual from regular contact lens usage. They hurt like hell, but generally heal very quickly. Want to know what I put in patients' eyes when they have a painful corneal abrasion?

A contact lens. (acts like a band-aid, covers the exposed corneal nerves, helps the epithelium regrow much faster).

Irony, eh?

/Good on the FDA for recalling these if this is happening
//haven't seen a case in my patient population, but I'll be watching for it.
 
2011-10-12 11:43:29 AM
I am insanely glad I don't wear toric contact lenses anymore.

I don't know if I had corneal abrasion, but I had PRK laser eye surgery done...the one where they scraped the corneal layer off your eye, do the correction, then let it grow back naturally instead of Lasik which makes a flap. Better for people in sports and highly active lifestyles.

Anywho, they gave me a prescription for hydrocodone and told me to fill it the next day if I needed it because there might be some slight discomfort. Slight discomfort is a nice way of saying you will spend at least three days thinking someone poured acid into your eyes and praying for a sweet release from the pain. Of course I didn't fill the prescription until the next day, so I got to spend six hours trying not to cry because that made it ten times worse. On a scale of 1-10...that pain was an 11.

Almost 5 months later and I am pretty happy with how the surgery had turned out. I wish they wouldn't have sugarcoated it though and said "Fill this when you are done here or else you will regret it." I would still have done the surgery even knowing how painful it would be afterwards. It would have been nice to have the pain meds when I needed them though.
 
2011-10-12 11:46:00 AM
Avaria lenses are crap. Never had a single patient like them over Oasys or AirOptix, so I quit offering them.
Coopervision does make some decent multifocal contacts, though.
 
2011-10-12 11:47:04 AM
hailin: I don't know if I had corneal abrasion, but I had PRK laser eye surgery done...the one where they scraped the corneal layer off your eye, do the correction, then let it grow back naturally instead of Lasik which makes a flap. Better for people in sports and highly active lifestyles.

Yeah, you effectively had the entire cornea abraded. Hurts like hell. I'm surprised they didn't put you in bandage contact lenses for a few days while it healed.
 
2011-10-12 11:47:48 AM
Not the kind of contacts that I use. Whew.
 
2011-10-12 11:50:22 AM
To hell with laser surgery and contact lenses; all of that crap is purely for vanity purposes and I would NEVER endanger my vision for such a stupid reason.

That said, when it comes to the safety of medical devices, medicine and the illusion of a so-called "free market", I've always said that you cannot vote with your dollars if you're already dead. I suppose you could vote if you're blind, but you'll need a seeing eye dog and a cane.
 
2011-10-12 11:55:28 AM
"Things I would like to not have to worry about:" split infinitives
 
2011-10-12 11:56:08 AM
Makes me glad I've stuck with the same contact lenses for the last 10yrs, despite all the "new" types coming out.

I wish they would have covered *how* the lenses did that though. Are there microscopic crystalline structures poking out or something?


/don't think I'll ever have the guts to have the surgery.
//plus my eyes continue to get worse even in my late 20's
///and I was told that they'll start changing again in my 50's and then I would need reading glasses instead (currently nearsighted).
//didn't seem like much gain.
 
2011-10-12 11:56:36 AM
Rude Turnip: To hell with laser surgery and contact lenses; all of that crap is purely for vanity purposes and I would NEVER endanger my vision for such a stupid reason.

There are plenty of situations where refractive surgery and contact lenses are very good options over spectacles. You're free to your opinion, but your situation is probably not universal. That said, contacts carry very real risks... for many people refractive surgery is actually probably safer in the long run. RGP lenses are safer than soft SCLs too, but their discomfort and hassles have relegated them to niche status for the most part.
 
2011-10-12 11:57:56 AM
Coopervision makes Procleat which we use in my pracrice all the time. The other lenses are crap.
 
2011-10-12 12:00:03 PM
Rude Turnip: To hell with laser surgery and contact lenses; all of that crap is purely for vanity purposes and I would NEVER endanger my vision for such a stupid reason.


Or SCUBA diving, or rainy days, or wanting to wear polarized sunglasses, or safety glasses, or peripheral vision.
 
2011-10-12 12:00:08 PM
Man, I wish I could take that last post back....

Coopervision makes Proclear which we use in my practice all the time. The other lenses are crap.

Oasys and AirOptix aqua are the ones we use the most.
 
2011-10-12 12:01:18 PM
Rude Turnip: To hell with laser surgery and contact lenses; all of that crap is purely for vanity purposes and I would NEVER endanger my vision for such a stupid reason.

Meh. That does contribute somewhat to why I wear contacts (my girlfriend certainly prefers it) but for me there are 2 bigger reasons:

1. I have a big head and it's hard to find glasses that fit comfortably. When I feel my temples I swear that it feels like there are indentations on either side of my skull.
2. Glasses get dirty quickly and I'm always cleaning them. And if they get scratched, forget it. It's annoying. No such issue with contacts. And I use disposables so I can just throw them away at the end of the day.
 
2011-10-12 12:07:20 PM
theMagni: Rude Turnip: To hell with laser surgery and contact lenses; all of that crap is purely for vanity purposes and I would NEVER endanger my vision for such a stupid reason.


Or SCUBA diving, or rainy days, or wanting to wear polarized sunglasses, or safety glasses, or peripheral vision.


You can Rx masks and goggles, polarized lenses and be easily Rx'd along wit safety glasses. Many frames are wraparound as such you get great peripheral vision these days. Rainy days not so much...

/Put down the garden hose and get back on your lawn, you onion belted gomer!
 
2011-10-12 12:09:27 PM
hailin: I don't know if I had corneal abrasion, but I had PRK laser eye surgery done

Oh hey, I so rarely get to meet other people who had that operation done. Mine was about 5 years ago. I agree about the pain, it was terrible. Very close to being as bad as the retinal detachment surgery I had a few years after. But I would think that by definition corneal abrasion refers to what happens in PRK. And alywa mentioned that he (she?) gives patients contact lenses to help with corneal abrasion, which is something you have to wear after PRK for at least a week if I remember right.

/I went from 400/20 to 30/20 and they're still holding strong so far, if you don't count all these farking floaters from this retina crap
 
2011-10-12 12:11:47 PM
INeedAName: I actually passed a gal stone so hard it gave someone a corneal abrasion.

You did what to your gal? What did she ever do to you?
 
2011-10-12 12:18:33 PM
Ugh... that made my eyes water.

I wish I could stop wearing glasses but I'm too afraid to fool with contacts or anything else. My vision is awful in one eye and the other is pretty much just for decoration. I don't want to risk the crappy vision I have.
 
2011-10-12 12:28:14 PM
OWWW!! MY EYESS!! ARRRGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!
campus.albion.edu
 
2011-10-12 12:36:49 PM
hailin: I am insanely glad I don't wear toric contact lenses anymore.

I don't know if I had corneal abrasion, but I had PRK laser eye surgery done...the one where they scraped the corneal layer off your eye, do the correction, then let it grow back naturally instead of Lasik which makes a flap. Better for people in sports and highly active lifestyles.

Anywho, they gave me a prescription for hydrocodone and told me to fill it the next day if I needed it because there might be some slight discomfort. Slight discomfort is a nice way of saying you will spend at least three days thinking someone poured acid into your eyes and praying for a sweet release from the pain. Of course I didn't fill the prescription until the next day, so I got to spend six hours trying not to cry because that made it ten times worse. On a scale of 1-10...that pain was an 11.

Almost 5 months later and I am pretty happy with how the surgery had turned out. I wish they wouldn't have sugarcoated it though and said "Fill this when you are done here or else you will regret it." I would still have done the surgery even knowing how painful it would be afterwards. It would have been nice to have the pain meds when I needed them though.


I also had PRK done, though my pain wasn't as bad as yours. I chose it over LASIk because I didn't want to have to worry about the possibility of the flap reopening later on, however unlikely it may be. I did get the warning in advance of, "Tomorrow you're going to be uncomfortable and your vision will be blurry. The next day it will be even worse. Then it will start to get better." I had some numbing drops they gave me which didn't seem to do much at all. I was very uncomfortable the whole week, but not to the point you're describing. It pales in comparison to how I felt after I had my wisdom teeth out, though they were badly impacted and the dentist had to go digging deep to get at them.
 
2011-10-12 12:46:18 PM
FreakinB: Rude Turnip: To hell with laser surgery and contact lenses; all of that crap is purely for vanity purposes and I would NEVER endanger my vision for such a stupid reason.

Meh. That does contribute somewhat to why I wear contacts (my girlfriend certainly prefers it) but for me there are 2 bigger reasons:

1. I have a big head and it's hard to find glasses that fit comfortably. When I feel my temples I swear that it feels like there are indentations on either side of my skull.
2. Glasses get dirty quickly and I'm always cleaning them. And if they get scratched, forget it. It's annoying. No such issue with contacts. And I use disposables so I can just throw them away at the end of the day.


3. Glasses provide shiatty peripheral vision at my correction level. Seriously feel like I'm in a fishbowl when I'm not looking straight on.
 
2011-10-12 01:00:22 PM
When I was 19 or so I made the mistake of sleeping with my contacts in. Woke up with one eye hurting real bad, went to take it out and the outer layer of eyeball came with it. That hurt, it's similar to a welding burn. Finally did interlasik about 6 years ago & it is the best thing ever.
 
2011-10-12 01:02:03 PM
cards fan by association: FreakinB: Rude Turnip: To hell with laser surgery and contact lenses; all of that crap is purely for vanity purposes and I would NEVER endanger my vision for such a stupid reason.

Meh. That does contribute somewhat to why I wear contacts (my girlfriend certainly prefers it) but for me there are 2 bigger reasons:

1. I have a big head and it's hard to find glasses that fit comfortably. When I feel my temples I swear that it feels like there are indentations on either side of my skull.
2. Glasses get dirty quickly and I'm always cleaning them. And if they get scratched, forget it. It's annoying. No such issue with contacts. And I use disposables so I can just throw them away at the end of the day.

3. Glasses provide shiatty peripheral vision at my correction level. Seriously feel like I'm in a fishbowl when I'm not looking straight on.


This is why I hate glasses too - no matter how many times they check and recheck my eyes, I can't seem to get lenses that don't get that "spectral dispersion" thing going if you're not looking straight through them (yellow ghosting on the left edges of objects, blue on the right). Even tried conventional glass lenses instead of the high-index polycarb, just doesn't help. I would think this was a very common problem since my vision, while poor, is well within the "normal" range of correction (-3.5 or so). I have a pair for emergencies but I never wear them unless I absolutely have to.
 
2011-10-12 01:16:45 PM
As someone who has had a recurring corneal abbrasion, OWOWOWOWOWOW...it is a very evil pain.

/The goggle, they do something, like keep the drywall dust outta you eye...
 
2011-10-12 01:44:17 PM
Well this will pretty much guarantee me from considering wearing contacts for the rest of my life...
 
2011-10-12 01:53:55 PM
Loaf's Tray: cards fan by association: FreakinB: Rude Turnip: To hell with laser surgery and contact lenses; all of that crap is purely for vanity purposes and I would NEVER endanger my vision for such a stupid reason.

3. Glasses provide shiatty peripheral vision at my correction level. Seriously feel like I'm in a fishbowl when I'm not looking straight on.

This is why I hate glasses too - no matter how many times they check and recheck my eyes, I can't seem to get lenses that don't get that "spectral dispersion" thing going if you're not looking straight through them (yellow ghosting on the left edges of objects, blue on the right). Even tried conventional glass lenses instead of the high-index polycarb, just doesn't help. I would think this was a very common problem since my vision, while poor, is well within the "normal" range of correction (-3.5 or so). I have a pair for emergencies but I never wear them unless I absolutely have to.


You're complaining about the laws of physics. People who are very observant will notice this with any glasses Rx, as it occurs because different wavelengths are refracted slightly different amounts, and this effect is more pronounced as you look away from the center of your lenses. There is no way to eliminate it except by removing all refracting power from the lenses, or through a series of prisms designed to correct this (also impractical because it would be very thick). The lower index materials will do it somewhat less, although this will result in heavier lenses.

FWIW it bothered me too, before I had LASIK, as I was very nearsighted (-7.00) and so the effect was obvious.
 
2011-10-12 01:54:48 PM
wyltoknow: hailin: I don't know if I had corneal abrasion, but I had PRK laser eye surgery done

Oh hey, I so rarely get to meet other people who had that operation done. Mine was about 5 years ago. I agree about the pain, it was terrible. Very close to being as bad as the retinal detachment surgery I had a few years after. But I would think that by definition corneal abrasion refers to what happens in PRK. And alywa mentioned that he (she?) gives patients contact lenses to help with corneal abrasion, which is something you have to wear after PRK for at least a week if I remember right.

/I went from 400/20 to 30/20 and they're still holding strong so far, if you don't count all these farking floaters from this retina crap


I had PRK as well back in November 2009. I'd agree that the recovery was terribly painful... in addition, upon removing my 'bandage' contact lenses, the optometrist accidentally poked me in my (still healing) eye with tweezers. Fun!
 
2011-10-12 02:53:15 PM
-reads article-
-calls wife- What kind of contacts am I wearing!?
Wife: Not CooperVision.
Me: Oh good... back to reading Fark.

Only got changed over to soft contact lenses three years ago. So much better than hard lenses!!!

FreakinB: 1. I have a big head and it's hard to find glasses that fit comfortably. When I feel my temples I swear that it feels like there are indentations on either side of my skull.
2. Glasses get dirty quickly and I'm always cleaning them. And if they get scratched, forget it. It's annoying. No such issue with contacts. And I use disposables so I can just throw them away at the end of the day.


Amen on both of those, brother. When my wife puts on my night-time glasses they actually slip over her ears they're so flared out.
 
2011-10-12 03:10:12 PM
In Ron Paul's world, this would never have happened in the first place! Because, um, FREE MARKETS! And like, capitalism, supply and demand!

Yeah, that's it! That's the ticket!
 
2011-10-12 04:19:50 PM
So... Is this only for the Avaira Toric lenses only? I appear to have Cooper Vision "Frequency 55" contacts. I guess I will have to look into this further. Seriously considering getting some form of laser surgery because wearing glasses/contact lenses blows.

/Too afraid of medical device manufacturers...
 
2011-10-12 04:30:31 PM
JustMatt: So... Is this only for the Avaira Toric lenses only? I appear to have Cooper Vision "Frequency 55" contacts. I guess I will have to look into this further. Seriously considering getting some form of laser surgery because wearing glasses/contact lenses blows.

/Too afraid of medical device manufacturers...


Me too, I was going in for a LASIK consult tomorrow, then I read this:
http://www.lasikcomplications.com/consumerreports.htm

and then this:
http://www.lasikcomplications.com/ectasia.htm

I should warn you that the second link has a cornea sort of... exploding... a little.

I'd rather have my lenses ripped apart by soft contact defects.
 
2011-10-12 08:30:13 PM
happydude45: When I was 19 or so I made the mistake of sleeping with my contacts in. Woke up with one eye hurting real bad, went to take it out and the outer layer of eyeball came with it. That hurt, it's similar to a welding burn. Finally did interlasik about 6 years ago & it is the best thing ever.

As someone who hasn't take out this particular pair of lenses (Oasys) in a few months, I laugh at your weak, girly eyeballs. Were they hard lenses?

I just forget about mine to be honest. They never cause me any discomfort, and I generally only change them when I can see they're dirty. My last six pairs lasted two years so I guess I go about four months before changing them out.

Been doing it for 15 years (before 24-hour lenses existed) and have not had any problems, but I don't think everyone can do it. My ophthalmologist says some people's eyeballs need more oxygen than others. If your eyes lack oxygen veins grow over the cornea and they never have in my eyes. Although I'm supposed to take them out for one night a week to clean them.

/Blind without them
//-4.5 and -6.0
 
2011-10-12 08:38:31 PM
farknozzle: Avaria lenses are crap. Never had a single patient like them over Oasys or AirOptix, so I quit offering them.
Coopervision does make some decent multifocal contacts, though.


Proclear MF have some of the best options available with plenty of comfort. Glad I haven't used any trials from the Avaira Toric kit.

Avaira sure was a failure as the "Oasys Killer." Shoot, more people seem to prefer Frequency 55.
 
2011-10-12 10:51:18 PM
if_i_really_have_to: /Blind without them
//-4.5 and -6.0


Lightweight!

/-6.5 and -7.5
 
2011-10-13 10:28:13 AM
farknozzle: Loaf's Tray: cards fan by association: FreakinB: Rude Turnip: To hell with laser surgery and contact lenses; all of that crap is purely for vanity purposes and I would NEVER endanger my vision for such a stupid reason.

3. Glasses provide shiatty peripheral vision at my correction level. Seriously feel like I'm in a fishbowl when I'm not looking straight on.

This is why I hate glasses too - no matter how many times they check and recheck my eyes, I can't seem to get lenses that don't get that "spectral dispersion" thing going if you're not looking straight through them (yellow ghosting on the left edges of objects, blue on the right). Even tried conventional glass lenses instead of the high-index polycarb, just doesn't help. I would think this was a very common problem since my vision, while poor, is well within the "normal" range of correction (-3.5 or so). I have a pair for emergencies but I never wear them unless I absolutely have to.

You're complaining about the laws of physics. People who are very observant will notice this with any glasses Rx, as it occurs because different wavelengths are refracted slightly different amounts, and this effect is more pronounced as you look away from the center of your lenses. There is no way to eliminate it except by removing all refracting power from the lenses, or through a series of prisms designed to correct this (also impractical because it would be very thick). The lower index materials will do it somewhat less, although this will result in heavier lenses.

FWIW it bothered me too, before I had LASIK, as I was very nearsighted (-7.00) and so the effect was obvious.


-6.25 in both with astimatism in right eye. Everytime I explain my problem with glasses to people who wear glasses they don't understand. Optometrists basically shrug and have no explanation other than "It takes awhile to get used to them." Perhaps I notice this problem because ever since I've required significant correction, I've had contact lenses.
 
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