Risk analysis

Cosmetic contact lenses, both prescription and plano, result in more 'significant events' for users than powered CLs, according to the European Contact Lens Forum (ECLF), organisers of the Contact Lens European Evidence Reporting (CLEER) project.

Adverse events include conjunctival hyperaemia, corneal staining, contact lens peripheral ulcers, contact lens papillary conjunctivitis, corneal neovascularisation, infectious keratitis, corneal erosions and vision threatening signs.

'These conclusions suggest that a CL is a CL regardless of its Rx or colour characteristics,' said Helmer Schweizer, past president of Euromcontact at the BCLA conference.

ECLF hopes this data will be used to help lobby European authorities to regulate plano cosmetic CLs as medical devices.