AOA 2026: What fitting patients for comfortability looks like in daily practice

Denise Whitham, OD, a past president of the New York State Optometric Association, discussed her extensive experience with the Johnson & Johnson Acuvue family of contact lenses, particularly the 1-Day Acuvue Oasys line and its expanded toric parameters. She framed these expansions as a major clinical advantage, allowing her to fit a broader range of patients with astigmatism while maintaining both comfort and visual quality. In her practice, 1-Day Oasys is a primary workhorse lens, alongside the 1-Day Max multifocal and multifocal for astigmatism, which she notes is uniquely available in the Max portfolio.

Whitham explained astigmatism in accessible terms, describing how an elliptical, “football-shaped” cornea prevents light from coming to a single point focus, instead producing a line focus and resulting in blur, glare, distortion, and difficulty with tasks like reading screens. Historically, many patients with higher astigmatism could not achieve optimal vision with soft lenses, but she emphasizes that the new, expanded parameter range—including cylinder powers up to −2.75 D and a broad axis set—translates directly into “more possibilities” and more satisfied patients.

A central theme is the Blink Stabilized Design, used across Acuvue’s toric portfolio (1-Day Moist, 1-Day Oasys, Vita, and Max). Unlike traditional prism ballast designs with thicker, heavier edges that can shift as patients change gaze or posture, the Blink Stabilized Design uses the upper and lower lids to anchor the lens in four positions. This promotes rapid settling, stable orientation in all positions of gaze (e.g., reclining while watching Netflix, driving, checking mirrors), and eliminates the need to “wait 15–20 minutes” for a lens to rotate into place.

Whitham also stressed comfort and ocular surface compatibility. Whittam highlights the lens’ thin edge design and the inclusion of PVP, a molecule that mimics the natural tear film to maintain moisture throughout the day. She notes that Johnson & Johnson lenses consistently rank first in comfort across numerous clinical trials conducted by the National Institutes of Health. UV protection and, in the Max family, blue light filtering further support both eye health and modern visual demands.

Clinically, Whittam adopts a lifestyle-based prescribing approach, selecting from a comprehensive Acuvue portfolio kept fully stocked in her exam room. She no longer hesitates to correct even low astigmatism (eg, −0.75 D) or to mix a spherical lens in one eye with a toric in the other, because the Blink Stabilized Design avoids issues like vertical imbalance, nausea, and headaches that were more common with older designs. Ultimately, Whittam positions these lenses as tools that deliver three essentials—vision, comfort, and ease of handling—and emphasizes that consistently happy, well-corrected patients are key to practice growth and long-term loyalty.