If you wear contact lenses and suffer from calcium deposits or build up and don’t use an enzymatic cleaner, you should check into it. Keeping your lenses free of build up and deposits will reduce the risk of eye infections, keep your vision as clear as possible and extend the life of your lenses. I wear disposables but still use the enzyme tablets to keep my lenses feeling as good as the first day I put them in. The process can take as little as fifteen minutes and will allow you to have crystal clear vision, eliminate eye irritations and extend the life of your lenses. I’ve used various types of enzyme tables in the past but I’ve found that the Bausch & Lomb ReNu Effervescent ones work best for my particular type of build up and deposits. If you’ve never tried this product you should ask your optometrist is this would be something that could benefit you. If so, he or she should have some samples of the tablet and liquid for you to try to see which one works best. Most eye care centers give out starter kits that include a contact lens case, multi purpose solution, daily cleaner and some form of weekly cleaner. Take advantage of this sample kit to try out new products to see which one works best for you.

Bausch & Lomb ReNu Effervescent Cleaner

The premise is simple, the tables power off most forms of deposits and build up that attach themselves to lenses. This is one of the best ways to remove ‘lens grit’ and keep them feeling as smooth and clean as when you first got them. Even if you wear disposables, you can still use this product to extend the life of your lenses and more importantly – keep them clean. When I talk about extending the life of a lens I am not talking about exceeding the recommended time from for disposables [although I often do], I am simply saying that by using this type of product you can avoid tossing out a perfectly good lens that still has a few weeks left but feels scratchy or has a build up.

With this product you get two small plastic vials, individually sealed tablets, an instruction sheet and with some packages a small plastic holder for the plastic vials. This isn’t anything special and usually ends up getting dented and crushed but it is nice to have around to keep them from getting knocked over. All you need to supply is the ReNu Multi Purpose Solution or a saline solution to dissolve the tablets and you are ready to go. The best thing about the packaging is that the tablets are individually sealed, no worries about tampering or losing tablets – they’re all connected on one long strip with perforations between each of them so they are easy to rip apart.

Directions

Included with this kit you get two small plastics vials, on the bottom you’ll see “L” and “R” so you can keep track of which lens you are cleaning. Simply rip open one of the individually packaged tables and pop it into a vial. Fill it with saline solution [or whatever solution you use] and allow the tablet to dissolve. You might see some small bubbles coming off the tablet, that just lets you know that it is working and in the process of dissolving. Allow the tablet to completely dissolve and pop your lenses into the marked vial, replace the cap and allow them to soak for about fifteen minutes. I usually let mine soak overnight and rinse them in the morning but according to the package the process takes “as little” as fifteen minutes. Since I get bad calcium deposits I shake the containers around for a minute or so just to give it a little kick-start. When removing the lenses always make sure your hands are clean and free from dirt, rinse them well with a saline solution and store them in your contact lens case or pop them in your eye.

Please make sure to read the package insert before you use this product. It will give you detailed instructions on how to properly use it to ensure that your lenses are clean and safe to wear. I mentioned that I usually allow mine to soak overnight, this is something that Bausch & Lomb states in their product literature but they also say not to go over the 12 hour mark. I’m not sure what will happen if you do exceed this time frame but personally, I’m not about to play guinea pig to find out. If you still have questions about this product, consult your optometrist.

Sizes & Price

This product comes in a few different sizes – meaning the number of tables in a pack. The ones that I have seen recently have been 10 and 20 count boxes with a few extra tablets tossed in “free”. I usually pick mine up at Wal-Mart and get the one with the best price, usually less than $5.00 for the largest size they have in stock. If you are ordering this online, make sure that you are purchasing the “effervescent” one, not the liquid. They both carry the “enzymatic cleaner” name but one says effervescent and the other does not. If you subscribe to any of the Bausch & Lomb newsletters or receive emails, you might be able to find coupons for this product from time to time. Usually I come across the $1.00 off coupon for any ReNu product which really knocks down the price – especially if I can catch it on sale.

Things To Know

The small plastic containers that come with this kit should be rinsed well after using. I try to rinse them with hot water [no soap] and let them air dry upside down on a paper towel them store them in a small plastic bag until the next time I use them. Try leaving the caps off of them to avoid any smells or odors – since they are in a plastic bag I don’t have to worry about dirt or dust getting inside but I do rinse them well before using them again.

If you don’t want to use this type of product, you can check out the Bausch & Lomb ReNu 1 Step Enzymatic Cleaner. It’s the liquid version of the effervescent and allows you to clean your lenses, rinse them and wear them in a shorter period of time. I have tried this product and it was great when I only needed to remove a small amount of build up or my lenses felt scratchy, but to really get the dirt and build up off, I am stuck with the tablet form. I still use the liquid form when I need to quickly clean them and wear them for driving or doing things around the house and it does work to remove small deposits. If you don’t suffer from a lot of build up then this would probably be a better choice for you rather than the enzyme tables.

The Bottom Line

Even though I wear disposable lenses, I still use this product on a regular basis to extend the life of my lenses and to make sure that I am getting the best possible vision. After three or four days I get what is called a “starburst” effect – this is when you look at a light and there is a small starburst around it. This is most visible at night when driving and can put you in a potentially dangerous situation, especially when driving on freeways or in heavy traffic. By using this product I’ve almost completely eliminated this rather bothersome side effect of contact lens wear and extended the life of my lenses. Even if it didn’t help to add a week or so to the time that I can wear the lenses, it feels so good to be able to pop a lens in your eye and have it feel just as good as when you opened the pack. No itchy feeling or burning and no blurred vision or lens sliding all over the place. If you’ve never used this product to clean your lenses, ask your optometrist about adding this to your contact lens cleaning program. He or she will be able to tell you which version [liquid or tablet] will work best for you and possibly have samples of both on hand for you to try out.


As always, thanks for the read!

^V^ Freak ^V^

© 2003 Freak369


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Recommended: Yes