Contact Lens Care & Compliance

New Hydrogen Peroxide Lens Care System Enters U.S. Market

BY SUSAN J. GROMACKI, OD, MS, FAAO

In the United States in April, Bausch + Lomb launched PeroxiClear, the first new hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) cleaning and disinfecting lens care solution in almost eight years. It is a one-bottle, one-step system (i.e., disinfection and neutralization occur simultaneously) that is U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for both soft (including silicone hydrogel) and GP lenses.

One-Bottle H₂O₂ Similarities

Like the other two one-bottle H₂O₂ lens care systems on the U.S. market (Clear Care from Alcon and Sauflon One-Step from Sauflon), PeroxiClear contains microfiltered 3% hydrogen peroxide, which provides excellent cleaning and disinfection. Also similarly, the neutralization of the hydrogen peroxide is achieved with a platinum catalytic disc that is firmly attached to the bottom of the case’s lens holder. Because the solution that remains after neutralization is nonpreserved (saline), a maximum of seven days of soaking is allowed before the lenses would need to be re-disinfected (Gromacki, 2012).

In addition to H₂O₂, all three care systems contain a component that aids in cleaning (for PeroxiClear, it’s the surfactant Poloxamer 181). In addition, they are all FDA-approved as no-rub systems, given a required rinse first (Gromacki, 2012).

New Features

PeroxiClear contains three separate wetting agents. The “Enhanced Moisture Formula” with “Triple Moist Technology” includes Poloxamer 181 to attract and retain moisture, propylene glycol to bind water, and carbamide to moisturize and to prevent lens dehydration.

Another new feature is the lens case (Figure 1). It contains a two-tone color system, with white for the right eye and teal/green for the left. The case is also designed such that a contact lens is placed onto the part of the lens basket that swings open, rather than onto the central core.

Figure 1. PeroxiClear lens case.

In addition, the neutralization process takes only four hours with PeroxiClear compared to the six hours required for other peroxide-based systems. B+L says that the PeroxiClear formulation provides a proprietary mechanism to delay the neutralization of hydrogen peroxide for a short time initially, delivering higher peroxide exposure for disinfection over this short period of time. This initial delay is then followed by a robust and quicker neutralization.

GP Lens Care

It’s important to note that there are special instructions for caring for GP lenses using PeroxiClear. This includes rubbing each lens for five seconds per side with PeroxiClear, placing the lenses in their baskets, and rinsing each lens for five seconds. The neutralization process is the same as with soft lenses.

Expanding the Category

With H₂O₂ care system use trending up over the last few years (Nichols, 2014), it’s great to have another option to recommend to our patients. CLS

For references, please visit www.clspectrum.com/references.asp and click on document #222.

Dr. Gromacki is a diplomate in the American Academy of Optometry’s Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses and Refractive Technologies and practices in Chevy Chase, Md.