AAOpt 2026: Keeping up with contact lens care as technology advances

Susan Gromacki, OD, MS, FAAO, FSLS, discussed how contact lens care and patient compliance need to keep pace with advances in lens materials and designs. She introduced her session, “Advances in Contact Lens Care for the New Contact Lens Technologies," that was presented at the American Academy of Optometry’s annual meeting in Anaheim, California, as focused on care for new contact lens technologies. Gromacki’s central point was that newer lenses do not make good care less important; rather, evolving technologies make clear instructions and appropriate routines increasingly essential to successful, safe lens wear.

In response to a question about outdated recommendations, Gromacki noted that new designs include increased use of overnight orthokeratology for myopia management, while 57% of soft contact lens patients in the U.S. still wear reusable lenses. This means that many patients continue to rely on care routines, cleaning products, and replacement schedules that need regular attention. Gromacki said eye care practitioners should take greater ownership of educating patients instead of assuming they already understand how to care for their lenses.

The discussion gave particular attention to scleral lenses. Gromacki said that staff should ask about lens care at every visit and invite patients to describe their routine step by step—not simply name the solution they use. A key detail is what solution patients use to fill a scleral lens before applying it. She cautioned that products available online may not be FDA-approved, and some have been associated with contamination issues or recalls. She also described presenting a Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS) poster that organized filling solutions and identified those with reported contamination problems.

Gromacki said that, at the time of the discussion, there were no FDA-approved drug-eluting lenses in the US. She mentioned early research on lens coatings that might kill microbes, but emphasized that this remains basic research rather than a technology available to patients.

Finally, Gromacki noted that some lens-care solutions have been discontinued, while other products intended to improve comfort and safety may reach the U.S. market in the future. She also cited Rebecca Petris’s advice that when a patient has difficulty with scleral lenses, clinicians should not immediately assume the problem is the fit. The transcript ends before that thought is completed.