contacts wearers: do you buy off-brand solution?

[ReenaP]

Our optometrist recommends name brand cleaning solutions such as OptiFree or Bausch & Lomb, but the prices always make me cringe (even at Amazon or Walmart). Do you stick with name brand solutions, or do you use off-brand?

[Daria Morgandorffer]

May 21, 2012 9:25:19 GMT -5 @crackhabit said:

I use Target's Up&Up and haven't had problems.

Ditto. I use Up &Up errrrrything.

[Deleted]

Yup. I can't recall the last time I bought name brand solution. Ditto the rec for up&up.

[grk2012]

Target here, too. I like it better than others I've tried. They're not making it in the back room.

[Redpoppy]

I do but because I've had issues with some. I had micro abrasions on my cornea after using Opti-free and the opthamologist said he'd seen it in several people that uses that solution with the brand of contacts I use. He just said they are all different and some solutions work better with different contacts. I couldn't wear contacts for a month so not in a hurry to try another.

[sjh722]

I use Up & Up or Costco brand.

Sometimes I'll have a bottle of Bausch & Lomb if it was free with ECB at CVS, and I don't notice any difference between that and the generics.

[mrssavy42112]

I use the WalMart brand of Renu for years and it works just fine. I can get 2 huge bottles for <$5.

[EMT]

I've always used Walmart brand but I went to the optometrist a few weeks ago and he said he doesn't recommend generic brands. He even offered to give me free samples whenever I needed solution if it was a cost thing. He'd rather give his free samples away instead of his patients buying generic. Apparently some of his patients have had issues with generic brands.

Maybe, like PP, it depends on the brand of solution and/or your contacts. In any case, I've never had issues so I'll probably keep using Walmart brand. And if anything ever happens to my eyes he say I Told You So. :-\

[hanihani]

Kirkland Signature from Costco. It is so much cheaper.

[Deleted]

I've tried to use the Up&Up and other off brands but I feel like my contacts dry out faster and it sometimes stings my eyes.

I usually just suck it up and try to find a coupon for a few bucks off.

[noodleoo]

I have been using the Walmart generic brand for probably a decade with no problems. It is like $2.50 per bottle (vs. like $10+ for name brand). There is no way I'd pay for the name brand when the generics are a quarter of the price. You are paying for their advertising (and also all those free samples that they give optometrists to hand out).

[h]

I use Up&Up.

[charlatti]

May 21, 2012 10:28:17 GMT -5 @amoosed said:

I've tried to use the Up&Up and other off brands but I feel like my contacts dry out faster and it sometimes stings my eyes.

I usually just suck it up and try to find a coupon for a few bucks off.

Ditto. The off-brands don't work as well for me, so I stick with what makes my eyes happier. ( :heart: BioTrue. That stuff rocks.)

[Deleted]

Brand name only. I'm allergic to certain brands so I stick to what I know works.

[definitelyO]

I just use the generic saline solution and that's what I clean mine in. mine are soft contacts and I wear each pair for about a month (taking them out at night) and then get new ones.

[mooshkin]

I use the brand name (Opti Free) now, after my doctor recommended it. I used to use a store brand but stopped at his recommendation.

I'm not sure if it really makes any difference, but since they're my eyes...I'll go with what he says.

[downtoearth]

Yes, I almost always buy off-brand - Target or similar multi-purpose solution.

I've owned up to that to my optomitrist and she never judged.

[minniebee]

I don't wear contacts anymore (had lasik) but I used to get the Target brand. Never had a problem.

[spidervain]

Obviously in the minority here but I always used to use Opti-free and switched to Up&Up. It's been a lot worse for me. My eyes dry out (never did before)band I've been getting somedischarge (tmi?) That clings to the contact during the day. I'll be switching back when these bottles are gone. Not MM to switch till then.

Also, I use store brand for tons of things, so it's not that I'm just a brand whore.

[Awkward]

I did not originally read this as "contact wearers."

Anyway. It says directly on the bottle that OptiFree does not make generic store brands, so I don't feel like it's something like tp or spaghetti sauce where close is good enough. But I have somewhat sensitive eyes.

[lmdbww]

I use BioTrue (not sure there is a generic for it?) but my eyes are crazy sensitive and easily irritated and I had an allergic reaction to the last kind that I used so i'm scared to try anything else.

[mego]

I use the walmart equate kind and I feel it is as good as the name brands. I felt really guilty when I first noticed that there was an off brand because of the hundreds of dollars I had probably wasted being brand loyal. $13 dollars for 10oz of opti-free vs. $4-5 for 24oz of equate. My eyes didn't like the kroger brand as much so you still have to see which ones are best for your eyes.

[kershnic]

I use the Target brand without issue. I have done so for many years. My eye doctor told me it was all the same and not to waste my money on the brand names.

[juris11]

May 21, 2012 9:50:31 GMT -5 mrssavy42112 said:

I use the WalMart brand of Renu for years and it works just fine. I can get 2 huge bottles for <$5.

This. And I've actually heard bad things about Opti-Free.

[basilosaurus]

I've used Costco and Target brands. I've also bought whatever brands they had in Japan and Korea (actually, I think I found Korean bausch & lomb). It's never been a problem. When I get dry eyes it's probably b/c I don't change my contacts nearly as often as I should.

[thedutchgirl]

May 21, 2012 9:49:11 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

I wear dailies, so this doesn't apply to me, but my husband just started. And he would have done it earlier but he uses the peroxide stuff, and until last month, I had never seen it generic.

That's what I use too--Clear Care. Target has been making a generic for a while, and I've used it but didn't love it. Clear Care has gone up in price recently and there have been less coupons, so I'll probably try the Up & Up again.

[Rachael070707]

Normally I use whatever I have coupons for but I have noticed that I prefer BioTrue much more now. I have bad allergies and I think my eyes are more comfortable when I use this solution. I can find good coupons ($1, $2, $4 off) for this brand all the time too.

[octwed07]

I always buy off brand -- target, generic at kroger and i've never had issues. As with the PP, the only times i've had issues is if i wear my contact lens too long, but not at all related to teh solution. Also, i take my lens off everynight, i don't sleep with them on and once i've worn a pair a lot longer instead of changing/throwing them out and when i went to the dr, i was waiting for him to tell me that the lens were dirty -- but suprisingly he said they looked fine Anyway, it might be different for you, but i've never had any issues with the off brand solutions.

[jeanna85]

I use Walmart or Target brand. My college roommate got a fungal infection from Renu a few years back (the company ended up recalling multiple shipments for this problem). I know things can happen and it's irrational not to buy it now but I don't because of her experience. It just freaks me out.

[Deleted]

This is one of the only things I buy name brand. I use tons of generic but have had nothing but problems w/ generic contact solution. So I just suck it up and buy the expensive stuff. I need my eyes to last a few more years at least!