Thursday, March 4, 2010

Attention Miraflow, Softwear Saline and Aosept Contact Lens Wearers!

so it came to my attention a few days ago when i went to buy some softwear saline for my contacts that ciba vision is discontinuing miraflow contact lens cleaner and softwear saline. wtf?

i have managed to score some miraflow and hopefully will be ordering some softwear saline. i can't believe this. well, you're probably wondering what the big deal is. i am allergic to just about every other contact lens solution available. i can't use alcon, clear care or renu. i can't use most salines because they have preservatives in them. my eyes become red, itchy, burn and have a disgusting discharge. i am not alone. i'm posting this to unite other people who have the same problem i do.

i found out about this discontinuation for a google search. ciba vision is wanting to swtich miraflow users to clear care. well, that wouldn't be such a problem if people weren't allergic to clear care's cleaning agent- pluronic 17r4. and yes, i followed the cleaning instruction to a t. that's why people still buy miraflow, even if the number seems to be small. i don't understand the discontinuation since there are people i converted over to aosept who had lens problems.

i have contacted ciba and told them about my dilemma, as on the internet they didn't post about alternatives available for people like me. they haven't even updated their website to inform consumers. well, i did find out that cvs makes a cleaner just like miraflow- it's their extra strength cleaner for soft contacts. you can check the ingredients and compare them.
here's a link to that product

i haven't tried the product myself yet, but i would love for others to post their experiences here.

as for needing preservative free saline, i've heard blairex has a can version available that's supposed to work wonderfully, since it seems other places like cvs discontinued their version long ago. why? i mean, i also use canned saline to heal piercings. the bottled version with preservatives is not good for piercings and keeping homemade solution sterile is not easy.

i hope my message gets through to ciba vision that their business decision as a poor one.

you may contact ciba vision at: 800-875-3001
or visit their site: www.cibavision.com
please tell them you are disatisfied with clear care and why. tell them that miraflow is the only thing you can use.

you may think i'm crazy posting about such a trivial matter, but i've relied on the aosept system for over 10 years. i haven't been able to use a single other cleaner without problems. and there are times where wearing glasses won't do and neither will stumbling around blind.

perhaps we could petition to ciba about this? post here if you're interested.