Aircrew soft contact lens wear: a survey of USAF eyecare professionals

The USAF, when it approved soft contact lens (SCL) wear for aircrew in June 1989, chose a conservative approach that authorizes only daily-wear of extended-wear SCL's. The aircrew SCL program has been perceived as a success, and follow-up data are no longer being collected. A survey was sent to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAviation, space, and environmental medicine Vol. 64; no. 11; p. 1044
Main Authors Dennis, R J, Apsey, D A, Ivan, D J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.11.1993
Subjects
Aerospace Medicine
Conjunctivitis, Allergic - etiology
Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic - adverse effects
Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic - classification
Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic - utilization
Data Collection
Eye Diseases - etiology
Humans
Military Personnel
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Summary:The USAF, when it approved soft contact lens (SCL) wear for aircrew in June 1989, chose a conservative approach that authorizes only daily-wear of extended-wear SCL's. The aircrew SCL program has been perceived as a success, and follow-up data are no longer being collected. A survey was sent to all USAF eyecare professionals to assess the types and extent of SCL-related ocular pathology, the magnitude of environmental SCL problems in the cockpit, and the brands of SCL's that are being fitted. Only two instances of ulcerative keratitis were reported. The most severe inflight problem reported was the dry cockpit environment. CSI-T (Pilkington Barnes-Hind) was the most frequently used spherical lens and the Hydrasoft Toric XW (CoastVision) was the most used toric lens. The USAF aircrew SCL program appears to be progressing successfully. However, the Ophthalmology Branch at Armstrong Laboratory will continue to monitor the program for serious medical complications.
ISSN:0095-6562