_____________________________________________________________________________________
Stop using ReNu contact
lens solution: MOH
CHEOW XIN YI
xinyic@newstoday.com.sg
THE Health Ministry (MOH)
has advised contact lens users
to stop using the Bausch &
Lomb’s ReNu multi-purpose
contact lens solution for the
time being, following a spike of
fungal eye infections, even as
the company launched into full
damage control mode yesterday.
The warning came amid investigations
into the causes behind
the infections — which affected
22 contact lens users
here, said the MOH yesterday.
So far, findings indicate the links
with ReNu, but the actual cause
has not been established yet.
Meanwhile, Dr Brian Levy,
chief medical officer of Bausch
& Lomb, who flew in from the
United States to handle the crisis,
said ReNu was subjected to
stringent checks in the US.
Describing the spike in fungal
cases here as an “unusual
medical event”, he said such
cases have not been noticed
anywhere else in the region and
the US.
“There’s a lot of information
that surrounds this event ...
and what we are here to do is to
find out as much information
as possible to find the potential
causes of this problem,” he said.
He added that based on past
studies, such infections happened
in Asia because of its
tropical climate, but not with
such high incidence.
Bausch & Lomb had suspended
the sale of ReNu products
since last Friday to facilitate
investigations. It estimates that
there are about 120,000 to
150,000 ReNu users here.
Last Friday, 22 cases of fungal
eye infections were reported,
out of which three required
urgent cornea transplant. Of
these, 21 cases are users of the
popular ReNu solution.
Yesterday, MOH said it had
found that a significant number
of the patients had a history of
poor contact lens practice. Thirteen
users had used expired
lenses while 11 wore their lenses
while taking naps.
While not willing to speculate
on the causes of the spikes,
Dr Levy assured a public forum
— attended by about 60 people
— that the testing of the voluntarily
suspended batch is ongoing
in the US, and to date, nothing
extraordinary has been
found.
While one participant commended
Bausch & Lomb for
being upfront with the investigations,
there were however,
some dissatisfaction among
those who have contacted the infection
after using the solution.
“I have spent over $2,500
over the last 14 days because
of the infection and I hope someone
can help me on the steps to
seek redress,” said an indignant
Madam Leong Siew Yin, a ReNu
contact lens solution user.
The financial planner was
treated at Mount Alvernia, but
she is not part of the 22 cases
announced by the MOH.
When asked about compensation,
a Bausch & Lomb’s
spokesperson said it was “premature”
to comment on this
issue.
Meanwhile, opticians have
advised customers to switch to
other brands of contact solutions
until investigations are
over.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
yes frenz!
do tk note of this news, coz itz a rather serious case..
avoid dis brand if u can...
looking at dis report, i was actually kinda shocked coz a few wks bac, my eyes oso suddenly hv these symptoms, swollen,puffy,irritation..
after i removed my contact, d pain was even more unbearable, my eye kept tearing by itself non-stop n my vision was blurred despite wearing my glasses..
at dat moment, i thot i was reali going blind.. so scary!!
guess it was oso some sorta infection due to unclean lenses n solution..
i'm taking more care n precaution when using my contacts now..
unless itz reali necessary, else i'll choose my specs over my contacts..
itz our vision dat we're talking about here,
so itz alwaz better to play safe ya..
coz i'm sure u wouldnt want to be the one who ends up crying at d end of the day!
flying towards my dreams
@ |2/21/2006 08:52:00 PM|