I maintain two scleral lens emergency kits — one in my handbag and one in my car. I check them every couple of months and swap out solutions as necessary.
I use an old cell phone dry box for my handbag kit. I like that it will keep any potential spills contained as well as its thin profile. It’s easy to move from pocketbook to daypack or airline personal item, even a pocket if need be.
Handbag kit contents:
- Flat contact case
- Sterile saline vials
- Remover and inserter tools
- Cotton swabs
- Alcohol wipes
- Ointment tube
- Small mirror
I don’t often have occasion to use the kit, but it is invaluable when needed. Since this kit is indoors most of the time, I don’t worry about the solutions overheating. None of the solutions have expired so there are no changes needed at this time.
My car kit is housed in another waterproof box. This one is from Coleman and I believe it originally contained a first aid kit. I have only used the car kit once, during a weekend trip when I inadvertently left my scleral supplies at home. Because I did not have a large case for H2O2 disinfection, I bought Boston Advance cleaning and disinfecting solutions to use with a flat contact case, augmented with sterile saline and nighttime ointment from the kit.
I’ve recently discovered new products and figured out a way to use a small ClearCare case for disinfecting scleral lenses in emergency situations, enabling me to modify the contents of my car kit.
Updated car kit contents:
- Modified ClearCare case
- Aplicare H2O2 packet
- Sterile saline vials
- Flat contact case
- Remover and inserter tools
- Cotton swabs
- Alcohol wipes
- Ointment tube
- Small mirror
One Aplicare packet contains enough H2O2 to fill a ClearCare container three times. I included a tiny binder clip to fold and seal the packet if opened.
With a little bit of stacking and manipulation, it all fit, although I had to jettison an eye patch that was getting old and discolored and had never been needed anyway. I am at the point in my scleral journey that I don’t really need the mirror, but it still fits so I left it in, although if it’s lost or broken I probably won’t replace it. Since it has been a couple of months since I last checked the kit, I did replace the sterile saline vials.
The small dry boxes that I use are ideal for tucking into my bag and glove box, but emergency scleral supplies can be kept in any type of container. A TSA 3-1-1 plastic bag would work very well—and hold additional supplies—but also requires more room to store it.
Prefilled scleral emergency and travel kits are available from the Dry Eye Shop.
