Optical practices across the UK and beyond have backed a national campaign aimed at raising the profile of contact lenses – reminding patients about safe practices and that it’s #TimeToTry.
Organised by the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA), the Love Your Lenses Week campaign – which finishes on 20 June – aims to increase safety awareness of contact lenses and “open glasses wearers’ eyes to the benefits of a new lifestyle filled with freedom, choice and comfort”.
The awareness week features a strong focus on the importance of compliance and good contact lens hygiene while also promoting the BCLA’s #StopTheSteam message to prevent the problem of spectacles fogging up in the age of face masks.
Contact lens optician and ABDO member Indie Grewal, president of the BCLA, said: “The BCLA is proud to bring back Love Your Lenses week. Contact lenses can change lives for the better. We are passionate about the role they play in eye health and we know eyecare professional around the country are too.
“The campaign is putting contact lenses firmly in the public eye and inspiring eyecare professionals to get talking about contact lenses and encourage their patients to consider giving them a try. With mask-wearing becoming an essential part of our daily routine during the Covid-19 pandemic, there has never been a better time to make the switch from spectacles to contact lenses.
“Love Your Lenses Week is an opportunity to remind patients of the importance of happy and healthy contact lens wear and a chance to give simple, practical advice such as ‘no water’ messaging to ensure compliance and create good long-term habits,” added Indie.
More than 200 individual practices registered for the campaign, supported by Alcon, mark’ennovy, Johnson and Johnson Vision, ASDA Opticians and the Association of Contact Lens Manufacturers.
The campaign was officially launched at the BCLA Virtual Clinical Conference and Exhibition, and practices have been getting involved across social media using the #TimeToTry hashtag, displaying campaign posters in their practice and wearing official Love Your Lenses t-shirts.