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From: wfi@unc.UUCP (William F. Ingogly)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Contacts And Allergies
Message-ID: <66@unc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 14-Feb-85 11:54:51 EST
Article-I.D.: unc.66
Posted: Thu Feb 14 11:54:51 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 17-Feb-85 06:08:47 EST
Organization: CS Dept., U. of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill
Lines: 16

Many thanks to all those who have sent me mail or posted replies on
their experiences with allergies and contact lenses. Quite a few other
people on the net seem to have had similar experiences to mine, and
the problem seems to be related in some cases to the thimerosal 
preservative used in the neutral saline solution. One person described 
his reaction as severe.  An option I wasn't aware of is saline
solution preserved with hydrogen peroxide, which is supposed to be
less likely to cause allergic reaction (but isn't H2O2 corrosive?
And doesn't it contain its own preservative to keep it from breaking
down to water and oxygen? Could this cause problems in certain cases?) 
Some people reported less problems with the extended wear lenses, but 
one person had better luck with the ordinary soft contacts. 

I think I'll make a trip one of these days to my local opthalmologist.
At least this time I'll be more informed *before* I go talk to the
doctor.