Renu Contact Lens Solution
I got this e.mail fews days ago.

Dear all,
this is 100% true. trust me, my sister is working at a optical shop at
Ampang told me yesterday (17/03/2006) that they have return thousands of
stock back to B&L Renu because of the same reason. so, please tell your
friends to stop using Renu at this moment.

wai peng
17/03/2006

THE Health Ministry (MOH) has advised contact lens users to stop using
the Bausch & Lomb's ReNu multi-purpose contact lens solution for the
time being, following a spike of fungal eye infections, even as the
company launched into full damage control mode yesterday.

The warning came amid investigations into the causes behind the
infections - which affected 22 contact lens users here, said the MOH
yesterday. So far, findings indicate the links with ReNu, but the actual
cause has not been established yet.

Meanwhile, Dr Brian Levy, chief medical officer of Bausch & Lomb, who
flew in from the United States to handle the crisis, said ReNu was
subjected to stringent checks in the US.

Describing the spike in fungal cases here as an "unusual medical event",
he said such cases have not been noticed anywhere else in the region and
the US.

"There's a lot of information that surrounds this event ... and what we
are here to do is to find out as much information as possible to find
the potential causes of this problem," he said.

He added that based on past studies, such infections happened in Asia
because of its tropical climate, but not with such high incidence.

Bausch & Lomb had suspended the sale of ReNu products since last Friday
to facilitate investigations. It estimates that there are about 120,000
to 150,000 ReNu users here.

Last Friday, 22 cases of fungal eye infections were reported, out of
which three required urgent cornea transplant. Of these, 21 cases are
users of the popular ReNu solution.

Yesterday, MOH said it had found that a significant number of the
patients had a history of poor contact lens practice. Thirteen users had
used expired lenses while 11 wore their lenses while taking naps.

While not willing to speculate on the causes of the spikes, Dr Levy
assured a public forum - attended by about 60 people - that the testing
of the voluntarily suspended batch is ongoing in the US, and to date,
nothing extraordinary has been found.

While one participant commended Bausch & Lomb for being upfront with the
investigations, there were however, some dissatisfaction among those who
have contacted the infection after using the solution.

"I have spent over $2,500 over the last 14 days because of the
infection and I hope someone can help me on the steps to seek redress,"
said an indignant Madam Leong Siew Yin, a ReNu contact lens solution
user.

The financial planner was treated at Mount Alvernia, but she is not part
of the 22 cases announced by the MOH.

When asked about compensation, a Bausch & Lomb's spokesperson said it
was "premature" to comment on this issue.

Meanwhile, opticians have advised customers to switch to other brands of
contact solutions until investigations are over.