Posted by Dr. Science on 09/30/2011 in
Question |
I’ve found that I can clean my contact lenses with toothpaste and tap water. My vision is clear, and my eyes are always minty clean. Since this is possible, why do people spend so much money on saline solutions, disinfectants, and the like?
———- from Barbara Braeder of Menomenee, WI
Most people aren’t willing to use their own eyes as guinea pigs in order to save a few pennies. The contact lens manufacturers know this, and so they fearlessly mark up their products, confident that the customer’s inherent squeamishness will discourage innovation and guarantee profits. The fact that you can perform most brain operations at home with a curling iron and crimping shears hasn’t exactly hampered the medical industry. No, we Americans are a passive lot, content to let so-called experts run our lives.
