Does Hubble = Trouble for Contact Lens Companies?

Hubble contact lenses are part of the new trend of direct-to-consumer businesses.  Its business model is very much like that of Warby Parker’s or Zenni Optical’s in eye care.  Is Hubble cheaper in price compared to others? Well it sure seems so, but is cheaper always better?  For some people it is, but for many, I think it’s all about the cost to quality ratio.

Now many of you may be thinking, well this post is just an optometrist being sour about not being able to make a contact lens sale.  While this may be true for some eye care practices, it does not apply to our practice because we only want to fit the best contact lenses, not the cheapest.

Comparison Shopping

Let’s look at the comparison here.  Contact lenses are often judged by how much oxygen is able to transmit to the eye.  The higher the DK number, the better.  Here are a few examples

High End 1-Day Lenses:
Alcon Dailies Total One:  140 DK
Acuvue Oasys 1 Day: 103 DK

Mid Level 1-Day Lenses that are popular:
Acuvue 1-Day Moist: 28 DK
Biotrue Dailes: 42 DK

Hubble contact lens:  18 DK

Conclusion

Hubble contact lens DK value of 18 is one of the lowest out there, but then again, it is one of the cheapest in price.  It is, however, not some state-of-the-art lens material like they claim.  In fact, the material they use has been out for a long time and IS definitely passed its prime.   So do yourself a favor, as great as their advertising is about $1 a day for contact lenses, don’t compromise your eye health to save maybe up to a dollar per day, if not just a few cents.  Hubble contact lenses really aren’t that cheap.  For example, $2 dollars a day you can get the high end lenses such as Dailies Total One if you wanted to, and for even less, you could get  BioTrue, Acuvue 1-day Moist, or any other brand name lenses.  The difference is so small, that you could easily make that up by ordering a small instead of a med/large coffee the next time you’re at your favorite coffee shop :-).  Just a thought.

Many people are excited about the possibility of not wearing glasses after laser corrective surgery.  However, one thing that is often over looked is the impact of smoking after a procedure called photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) or LASIK.  Smoking can affected the healing process of the cornea, especially in PRK where no flap is created.   In PRK, the top layer must essentially regenerate itself complete.  This is healing process is much longer than LASIK.  With that said, research has shown that people who continue to smoke during the recovery period are at higher risk for corneal haze in both procedures.  Corneal haze could lead to decreased vision or an sub-optimal outcome.  In general, we recommend that every should stop smoking, not just for the eyes but for the body.  If quitting isn’t an option, then at minimum stop a few weeks before the procedure and wait until the cornea completely heals to help obtain the best possible surgical outcome.

Reference

People with keratoconus have a new treatment option. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) for progressive thinning and distortion of the cornea.

The treatment uses a special laser and eye drops to promote “cross-linking,” or strengthening, of collagen fibers in the cornea.

CXL has been in wide use outside the United States for about a decade. Based on three year-long studies, the FDA approved the new treatment for keratoconus and other types of corneal ectasia. Corneal ectasia is the general name for conditions in which the cornea gets thinner and changes shape.

The cornea is the clear front window of the eye where light enters. It helps you see by focusing the light.

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