The bigger picture: Anterior eye in the wider health context

Two key areas of interest were apparent at a recent run of roadshows organised by Johnson & Johnson – general health and interactivity. Firstly, the events held around the UK under the banner ‘Comfort, Vision and Health’ included presentations that addressed issues impacting on contact lens wear but in a broader general health context. Secondly, alongside ever-popular peer discussion sessions, an interactive quiz focusing on anterior eye health ensured that interactivity was very much a theme for the day.

Comfort and vision

Professor Eric Papas (CRC, Australia) began his discussion about contact lens comfort with a look at how contact lens wear impacts upon quality of life scores. Studies had highlighted many positive outcomes related to lens wear, such as cosmesis and freedom to undertaken activity, while perceived negative impacts consistently boiled down to issues of vision (‘shame on us’ Papas cried) and comfort. That these last two were in some way related had been suggested by anecdotal reports of poor discomfort with blurry lenses. Papas showed how studies have indeed confirmed that comfort (very much a subjective matter) ratings improved significantly with reduction in visual blur. To ensure maximum contact lens comfort ‘always ensure the best correction and correct astigmatism with toric lenses,’ he confirmed.