Transcript: Scleral lens wear and ocular surface disease

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Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA: Hi. Here at Vision Expo I am lecturing on scleral lenses and ocular surface disease. Some tips to take home are the importance of treating the ocular surface when fitting scleral lenses, and that is treating it to the maximal level.

We want to look at blepharitis, demodex blepharitis, meibomian gland dysfunction, dry eye, all different types of dry eye, which are so important for both the scleral lens surface to help with wettability and also for midday fogging or debris between the lens and eye. We talked about all sorts of things that can be done using eyelid hygiene and different products and in-office procedures, including dietary changes, omegas and orals such as doxycycline, and the importance of drinking water and breaks on the computer and digital devices to help with scleral lens wear.

Now, very exciting, are different scleral lens profilometry or topography instruments that are available to map out beyond the cornea and on to the scleral conjunctiva which has really revolutionized our scleral lens fitting in the last few years. These instruments can make lenses more customized, providing better vision and better comfort for patients. We also talked about multifocal lenses, both soft and scleral.

It has been so much fun lecturing live here at Vision Expo.

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