Transition contact lenses pass FDA approval and will be available next year

Greg S

Posts: 1,607   +442

Passive transition lenses for glasses have been available for decades to help protect eyes from harmful ultraviolet light. However, glasses are not always convenient and can be broken. Johnson & Johnson Vision (JJV) in partnership with Transitions Optical has received FDA approval for contact lenses that adapt to lighting conditions.

It has taken more than 10 years and 1,000 patients participating in clinical trials to bring transition contacts to fruition. Transitions Optical specializes in photochromatic lenses and has shared its expertise with JJV to push the product to completion.

Instead of squinting outside or dimming the lights inside, filtering of UV light and attenuation of bright visible light will help protect wearers from harmful effects of overexposure. Even though transition contact lenses will help people see more clearly and provide moderate protection to their eyes, they are not a full replacement for sunglasses. Contacts do not cover the entire eye, leaving uncovered portions exposed to environmental conditions.

One question that remains is how will contact lenses that darken look in someone's eye? Contact lenses are a mainly functional medical item, but many wearers might not be a fan of having dark circles in their eyes. On the contrary, the technology may be developed enough that the effects are not blatantly obvious to bystanders.

Achieving 510(k) clearance from the FDA allows medical devices to enter commercial distribution for the first time. Acuvue Oasys with Transitions will be the first pair of contacts capable of mitigating changing lighting conditions and will arrive as one-month reusable lenses.

Unlike other breakthroughs in research and development, Johnson & Johnson is pleased to announce that their transition contacts will go on sale during the first half of 2019.

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Perhaps it won't matter much since the lenses will be in direct contact with the eyes, but I hated my transition glasses. For one, although they visibly darkened, they made little to no difference in the perceived brightness. That is to say they didn't block jack where sunlight was concerned, which to me was the whole point in getting them.

Second, whatever it is that they treat the lenses with to make them tint, it is practically impossible to clean the smudges from. I used lens cleaner, water, micro fiber cloth, nothing worked well. I could get them clear enough to not be distracting but they were never crystal clear and a couple hours after cleaning them they were usually all smudged up again. The smudged very easily.

I will never buy another set of transitions again. total waste of $90.
 
I don't recall ever seeing a conclusion as to if the regular wearing of transition lenses caused future eye problems (for when you did not wear them). I seem to remember reading a LONG article about it causing the eyes to weaken, but I can't remember where I saw it.
 
I'd love to have sunglasses where the tint could be manually controlled by a little wheel in the upper right front frame. A Google search reveals that there are products that approach this. Ctrl One has glasses that allow changes in tint by tapping one of the temples, but they're for cyclists and they match spandex cyclist clothes : P Skugga has some great-looking glasses, but they require smart phone control and they don't seem to be available.
 
I'd love to have sunglasses where the tint could be manually controlled by a little wheel in the upper right front frame. A Google search reveals that there are products that approach this. Ctrl One has glasses that allow changes in tint by tapping one of the temples, but they're for cyclists and they match spandex cyclist clothes : P Skugga has some great-looking glasses, but they require smart phone control and they don't seem to be available.

Take a look again. They have a few different styles now. Still none that I'm a huge fan of. But more of a sport look like Oakley also.
 
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