What does Pluronic 17R4 do in Clear Care?

The same online acquaintance who wrote about MiraFlow filled me in on a little bit of history of Clear Care, and talked about what the ingredient Pluronic 17R4 does exactly.

He writes:

Pluronic 17R4, it turns out, is one of a family of chemicals made by BASF. Opti-Free RepleniSH uses a different chemical made by BASF, Tetronic 1304. Both are surfactants - substances that act on the surface of chemicals (typically water). Though they have many roles, they're often used to help dissolve oils or proteins, and you can probably find surfactants among the ingredients of household cleaners and detergents.

While I assume the Pluronic in Clear Care is essentially there as a cleaning agent, the one in Opti-Free RepleniSH apparently also bonds water to the surface of silicone contacts, making them more comfortable. That's probably why Alcon describes the combination of the Tetronic and another, generic surfactant as a

MiraFlow Review

An online acquaintance of mine wrote a description of his experiences with MiraFlow, a contact lens cleaning solution that he prefers over Clear Care. At Lens101 Forum he writes:

Back in the good old days - the late 80s, when I first started wearing soft contacts - the standard routine for soft contacts was a three step process. Clean the lens, rinse it off with saline, and then disinfect. There was even a time when heat disinfection was the preferred approach, with cases that fit into small electronic heaters, although in a pinch, you could toss the case into a pot of boiling water. Saline took up significant

Clear Care Instructions

If you prefer a more visual explanation of how to use the Clear Care hydrogen peroxide lens cleaner than what is provided on the box insert, Ms Giling's Spot has a good explanation here.

Here's a sample of her post:

DIRECTIONS FOR USE:
To ensure proper disinfection of your lenses, you must follow the instructions completely. DO NOT skip any of the steps. Always wash and rinse your hands before handling your lenses. See package insert for special RGP instructions (I don't have this anymore, sorry -_-).

1. Remove and place each lense into the appropriately marked L/R domed lense holder. Rinse with Clear Care for 5 seconds.

Click here for the rest of her post

Clear Care - Hydrogen Peroxide Lens Cleaner Part I

How does Clear Care work? Does Clear Care work?
Note: By using the information presented in this blog, you agree to the terms described in the post entitled "Mission Statement and Disclaimer." Basically, you can't sue.

Clear Care

The packaging, complete with basic directions.
How does Clear Care work?

Overview: Clear Care, by CIBA Vision, is a new lens cleaner solution. However, unlike most lens cleaner solutions, this uses hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide presumably disinfects and removes protein from the lenses better than an enzymatic cleaner. Plus, the bubbling is really cool to watch.

Mechanics: There are really two main things that a lens cleaner does. First: disinfect it. Second: remove proteins.

Disinfecting the lens basically keeps your eye from becoming infected by bacteria or fungus. This is pretty important, and not always guaranteed, considering that Bausch & Lomb’s ReNu with MoistureLoc actually caused fungal infections, leading to a lawsuit from some 600 users.

Removing proteins from the lenses will keep your lenses “fresher” longer. These proteins naturally come from your eyes, and when they build up on your

Clear Care - Hydrogen Peroxide Lens Cleaner Part II

Most Clear Care packages contain two bottles of solution. I'd buy this over the single one simply to save money, and save the environment extra lens cases. Click on the picture to purchase online.

How does Clear Care work? Does Clear Care work?

Comparison to other products:

Most lens cleaners use enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that act, in strict scientific terms, act as catalysts (which make reactions go much faster than they otherwise would). Basically, they help a chemical reaction go even faster. In our case, these enzymes help destroy the skin of germs and remove proteins.

Enzymes can drill holes into the skin of germs, just like hydrogen peroxide. They’re just not as strong. As we saw, certain enzyme-based cleaners can allow, or even help, infections to occur. Hydrogen peroxide, however, reacts with virtually anything that’s part of a living organism. That’s why you can never put hydrogen peroxide in your eye – it’ll burn like crazy, because the hydrogen peroxide molecules are reacting with (read: destroying) the cells that make up your eye! Lens cleaner enzymes, on the other hand, have no problem being in your eye (unless you decide to go crazy with it).

So in terms of disinfection, Clear Care has the advantage. What about protein removal?

Protein removal is a bit more complicated. On one hand, certain enzymes are experts at ripping apart proteins in general. On the other, because enzymes are proteins, they can get stuck into the lens surfaces as well. Hydrogen peroxide has the potential to react with proteins, but this is a far cry from ripping them in half. Again, the hydrogen peroxide cleaner mostly works by bubbles.

Click to see the details in hi-res.

So in terms of protein removal, I’d call a tie here.

Risks:

Personal Health

As long as you follow the directions, you’re fine. Don’t use any other hydrogen

http://www.lens101.com

For contact lens wearers, there's a nice forum I stumbled upon. People there are knowledgeable and actually very friendly! You'll get answers to your questions quite quickly as well.

http://www.lens101.com

Clear Care - Hydrogen Peroxide Lens Cleaner

Does Clear Care work? How does Clear Care work?
Note: By using the information presented in this blog, you agree to the terms described in the post entitled "Mission Statement and Disclaimer." Basically, you can't sue.

Clear Care

The packaging, complete with basic directions.

Overview: Clear Care, by CIBA Vision, is a new lens cleaner solution. However, unlike most lens cleaner solutions, this uses hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide presumably disinfects and removes protein from the lenses better than an enzymatic cleaner. Plus, the bubbling is really cool to watch.

Mechanics: There are really two main things that a lens cleaner does. First: disinfect it. Second: remove proteins.

Disinfecting the lens basically keeps your eye from becoming infected by bacteria or fungus. This is pretty important, and not always guaranteed, considering that Bausch & Lomb’s ReNu with MoistureLoc actually caused fungal infections, leading to a lawsuit from some 600 users.

Removing proteins from the lenses will keep your lenses “fresher” longer. These proteins naturally come from your eyes, and when they build up on your lenses, will make them feel “thicker,” less flexible, dryer, and can even prevent oxygen from reaching your eye. Protein buildup on a lens is like caking your skin with mud. Your skin will be thicker, less flexible, dryer (because the mud will absorb any natural moisture from your skin), and your skin can’t breathe because its pores are being blocked up.

The way that Clear Care both disinfects and removes proteins is by using hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide naturally breaks down into H2O and a single oxygen atom, called a free radical. Free radicals are really reactive, reacting with whatever organic molecule that’s nearby. Of course, by reacting,