About Nutrifill

• Preservative free saline solution
• Can be used for rinsing and filling scleral lenses
• pH balanced, electrolyte-enriched
• Box of 35 10mL vials
• Ships to US, territories and Canada only.

Description (Rebecca's)

Launched January 2020. Another preservative free saline on the market, labeled for use with scleral lenses. This is such a good trend!

For many people, pH balanced borate buffered salines (i.e. Scleralfil & Purilens) seem to work quite well. Others seem to tolerate even the much more acidic sodium chloride solutions. Still others mix up cocktails in the bowl of their lens, such as using preservative free artificial tears mixed with saline or on their own. It is frustrating to me that scientifically, we do not know what all these things are doing to our corneas - beyond keeping them wet and assisting our vision. We need the scientific community to do a better job of studying what the effect is of various types of preservative free salines held against our corneas all day long!

Meantime, if you're trying to hedge your bets or, let's be honest, try something new out of curiosity, it's hard to go wrong. That might sound like lukewarm praise for a new product. I actually really do ilke the concept of this one. I'm just kind of choking on the price. (See more on this below.)

Anyway, the distinguishing features of this particular product are:

1. It's pH balanced (they say pH of 7.4 and osmolality of 300)
2. It's buffered with phosphates instead of borates (ScleralFil and Purilens use borate buffers). Which begs the question... is phosphate buffering better than borate buffering? Scientifically speaking, we don't know because no one has studied and published anything comparing the two yet. 
3. It contains electrolytes. What are the effects of those, if any, on the cornea? We don't really know, because it hasn't been studied. But it sure sounds nice :) 

Bottom line, if you want to Try Something New, this is a good, albeit expensive, New Thing To Try. As with all others, no results guaranteed, and don't forget to ask or least tell your doctor what you're doing!

Size-wise, NutriFill is 10mL, which is the same size as ScleralFil. ScleralFil's vials are much more elegant, but they both work. Personally I don't like how soft and squishy the Nutrifill one is - I found it a little harder to get the twisty thing off. Not hard, just harder.

If you currently use Lacripure, Addipak or Modudose in 5mL vials, Nutrifill is TWICE as large as those. For some, that will be a good thing because you're tired of opening up a whole bunch of vials every day. For others, it may be too much. PLEASE DO NOT SUCCUMB to the temptation of stretching it out for more than one day. Preservative free solutions offer no protection against contamination. And many of the things people do to try to keep it clean actually have the reverse effect! You may feel wasteful, but, well, you only get one pair of eyes, so please be careful.

Description (Manufacturer's)

Nutrifill: Scleral, Hybrid and Gas Permeable (GP) Lens Insertion Solution. Physiologic formula. Preservative Free. Single use 10mL ampoules.

Contents

Nutrifill is a preservative free sterile isotonic buffered saline solution with 5 essential electrolytes (Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphate, Sodium) in purified water.

INTENDED USE

Use to rinse your contact lenses prior to insertion and as an insertion solution for large diameter (scleral), hybrid, and rigid gas permeable lenses.

DIRECTIONS FOR USE

Twist off the plastic cap to open Nutrifill. Discard the cap and follow these directions:

1. Always wash and dry your hands before handling lenses. 
2. Always handle the same lens first, the right or left, in order to avoid mix-ups.
3. Following proper lens disinfection, rinse both sides of the lens and fill back surface (the bowl) before inserting.
4. Discard single use ampoule after each use. DO NOT REUSE.

Refer to Package Insert for complete instructions.

CAUTION: Store at room temperature. Do not freeze. Do not expose to temperatures over 79F (26C).