With 2018’s Love Your Lenses awareness week having been bigger and better than last year’s, it is time for us to say a big thank you to everyone who took part.
The success of Love Your Lenses comes from the way the whole sector works together to spread the word about good contact lens care.
So many organisations took part this year – optical businesses from large multiples to small independents, professional bodies, manufacturers and charities all joined together to remind patients to love their lenses and look after their eyes.
The campaign made a particularly big splash on social media, with Love Your Lenses supporters sharing top tips, videos, infographics and more.
We owe a big thank you to everyone who took part.
But good contact lens advice must not just happen for one week a year and at the GOC we want to help practitioners help their patients all year round.
One striking figure from our research a couple of years ago was that only 48% of contact lens wearers recalled getting aftercare advice at their most recent check-up.
We do not necessarily think the other 52% are not getting advice – it is a legal requirement – but it seems those patients are not always absorbing or remembering it. This then drives some of the poor habits around contact with water and ineffective handwashing.
That is why alongside Love Your Lenses we have been piloting some different ways to help ‘land the message’ when delivering aftercare, to see which are most effective. We will publish the results later this year and they will hopefully help practitioners to ensure their patients remember their advice.