Pend Oreille Vision Care

There was a big scare in eye care world earlier this year when the FDA put out warnings and recalls on eye drops that had harmed their users. A few weeks ago, 8 more manufacturers were given FDA warnings for illegally making or marketing unapproved drops. Many of them are facing issues due to product sterility -- aka, increased risk of harm to users. (Your eyes don't have the same level of immuno-protective systems as your skin and digestive system -- meaning non-sterile eye drops can really, truly do you a number if they've been contaminated.)

At the same time, Addipak also put out a recall on a batch of their saline solution, which failed sterility tests. Some of our local patients use Addipak saline for scleral contact lens filling solution. If you're a scleral wearer and Addipak user, be sure to look up the manufacturer's instructions regarding Lot 3B085.

None of the affected eye drops or solutions we're mentioning here were used or sold at our clinics. We just think this is a great time to remind everyone -- things that go in your eyeballs need to be sterile! Homeopathic treatments are popular in our area. There are some amazing folks at the Dry Eye Foundation that are trying to help the public determine which eye drops are safe for use -- they have a database/website up in beta form, for you to look up your eye drops (https://alerts.eyedropsafety.org/); and, one of their board members also wrote a great blog recently on homeopathic eye care (https://www.eyedropsafety.org/news/blog/whats-going-on-with-the-fda-amp-homeopathic-eye-drops).

If you're not a clicky person and don't want to follow those links, feel free to take a look below at the recent additions to the FDA list, and make sure any products you use aren't featured.
-Boiron, Inc (Optique 1 Eye Drops);
-CVS Health (CVS Health Pink Eye Relief Drops);
-DR Vitamins, LLC (Vision Clarity Eye Drops, Life Extension Brite Eyes III, Can-C Eye Drops, Longevity Science Visual Ocuity);
-Natural Ophthalmics (Women's Tear Stimulation Dry Eye Drops, Allergy Desensitization Eye Drops,,Ortho-K Thin (Daytime) Eye Drops, Ortho-K Thick (Night) Eye Drops, Tear Stimulation Forte Dry Eye Drops, Cataract Eye Drops with Cineraria);
-OcluMed LLC (OcluMed Nutritional/Lubricant Eye Drops);
-Similasan AG (Similasan Dry Eye Relief, Similasan Complete Eye Relief, Similasan Allergy Eye Relief, Similasan Kids Allergy Eye Relief, Similasan Red Eye Relief, Similasan Pink Eye Relief, Similasan Kids Pink Eye Relief, Similasan Aging Eye Relief, Similasan Computer Eye Relief, Similasan Stye Eye Relief, Similasan Pink Eye Nighttime Gel, Similasan Dry Eye Nighttime Gel);
-TRP Company, Inc. ["Natural Eyes" brand] (Dryness Relief, Pink Eye Relief, Allergy Eyes Relief, Red Eye Relief, Eye Lid Relief, Aging Eye Relief, Blur Relief, Floaters Relief, Twitching Relief, Stye Relief);
-Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Walgreens Allergy Eye Drops, Walgreens Stye Eye Drops, Walgreens Pink Eye Drops).

We made A THING! Don't take our radio silence on Facebook for inactivity - we've been busy over the past 6 months preparing an awesome surprise!
Introducing our new business partner... Spec-Techs! It's like the food truck of eye care! A clinic within a clinic! And boy oh boy are we excited. As a host clinic for Spec-Techs, we are now able to offer $70 eye exams to qualifying customers!!! That's right, that's an eye exam for HALF the price of our comprehensive exams with Dr. Harrell. It's not a scam. It's not an outsider business. It's owned and operated by us, the same local folks you already trust with your eye care. And not only are we offering this to try to save you money -- with Spec-Techs, we are now able to offer more time slots for those emergencies when you're allllmost out of contacts and really need in soon.
Want to know more? Check out the Spec-Techs website, https://spec-techs.com , to look at pricing, age qualifications, schedule an eye exam 24/7, or get any other questions answered.

Like most businesses in 2021, we are short-staffed and booked out! We'll keep doing the best we can, just like we always do -- but we highly recommend calling ahead to preschedule any and all visits to our clinic, even if it's as simple as picking up a pair of contact lenses. It's the best way we can guarantee that a staff member will be able to help you when you arrive. We understand the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work on solutions.

Also, please keep masking up while our hospitals are maxed out. Thanks Bonner County!