Clear Care Cleaning & Disinfecting Solution

I have been wearing soft contacts since 1975. PROS: Disinfects but with a lot of PITAs and potential high risks to my eyes. CONS: 1. Since this solution is highly dangerous to put directly in the eye, the neutralizing tab at the bottom of the cleaning vial is necessary to neutralize the solution over a stated 6hr period. If this tablet doesn't work for some reason, even if you rinse your contacts after the period with saline, they will still burn your eyes (just read the dozens of 1-star reviews). The tablet's neutralizing effect wanes with each use, so that Alcon states you MUST use a FRESH VIAL with EACH NEW BOTTLE of solution. Yet Alcon saw fit to provide two bottles of solution in this two-pack, BUT ONLY ONE CLEANING VIAL. This means in order to use both bottles of solution you will have to buy another Clear Care package just to get the vial... which means the new bottle with the new package will be useless without buying yet another package... Supplying only one vial potentially puts people's eyes at serious risk, as some people will reasonably assume the single included vial must be made to use with both bottles, or they would have included a second one. No, it won't work with both bottles, and yes you should have gotten a second one. That alone is worth one star as Alcon is supposed to be dedicated to eye care, but this decision to include only one vial to save a few pennies on each package, says all I personally need to know about Alcon's ethos. They know some people will assume the single vial will work for both bottles, while they can point to the fact that they clearly state in the directions that a new vial is needed for each new bottle. Yet, it's not included. Making the second bottle useless - or what Alcon hopes, an impetus to buy a new package to get a second vial... making the new bottle useless... and so it goes. 2. The very important directions for this product that can be so potentially dangerous to your eyes if not exactly followed, are printed on the inside of the box, rather than supplied on a leaflet, making it more difficult to get to them. Some people won't cut the box open but will just try to read the tiny writing by peering inside. The more dangerous a product can be, the EASIER it should be to read vital directions. I took the box apart and copied it, then glued/taped it back together as I wanted it to store the bottles in it. PITA. 3. I did not read the 1-star reviews before ordered it (something I always do in every other case) but because this product had so many sales and a solid 5-star rating, I didn't. While waiting for it to arrive, I came back and read those reviews. I recommend anyone considering this product read those reviews. While some people simply didn't read the directions and thought they were buying contact solution (user error), MANY others found that the neutralizing tab simply didn't work, even after an excess of 6hrs, and ended up with chemical burns to the eye. A good portion of these people were *fans* of this product, having used it and loved it for some time, and so contacted Alcon to report a potential bad batch of neutralizing tabs. None of these people (that I read here) sounded satisfied with Alcon's response, and you can see by the dates of the 1-star reviews *that had this problem* it was sporadically reported over a period of **a few years** which indicates no apparent recall of the bad lots, or attempt to rectify the problem. Instead Alcon *appears* to have let these bad lots sell through, **if the continued reports are any indication**. That is another CON because I had no assurance that the package I would receive would neutralize the solution. I HOPED it would, but I couldn't be sure, given the reports and the *apparent* lack of action on Alcon's part. In fact I considered just throwing it away. 4. While the bottles of solution have an expiry date printed on them, according to the directions, once a bottle is opened it must be discarded after 3 months, regardless of the expiry date. Wasteful. I taped a sticky to the bottle with the date I opened it. Another PITA. 5. You have to do a lot of rinsing of the parts with the bottle of solution (rinse the case, rinse the contacts when you put them in the vial's carousel before inserting it in the vial to soak). A lot of waste. The directions do say you can use plain saline for this instead, so I bought two bottles of that as I use multipurpose solution and it stated to use plain saline. I didn't know if that was necessary but was another inconvenience. 6. During the cleaning process the solution foamed out the top of the vial (there is a tiny hole to release air from all the bubbling action). So put the vial on a folded paper towel or paper plate, or make sure it's not a surface that could be damaged. Yet another PITA. And on the second try, although I snugged down the cap it wasn't snugged ALL the way down, so 3/4 of the solution foamed out leaving the contacts above the solution - if I hadn't happened to walk thru the bathroom and check it, they would have dried out and been ruined. So when the cap feels snug, apply a little more strength and turn it more until it won't turn anymore. (i.e. apply more pressure than you usually would with plastic parts) The package I got did indeed neutralize the solution - though I left mine to soak 12hrs – twice the stated time needed to neutralize it - and thoroughly rinsed the lenses in saline before I inserted them. I do feel it cleaned them some, but not in such a fantastic way that I'm sold. In fact I will never buy this again. If the package came with two vials I would have given it 3 stars, as in my case, it at least neutralized the solution. But the cleaning was nothing special. After reading more about cleaning regimens, I will be instead buying a daily cleaner and then enzymatic tablets to prolong the use of hydrophilic (soft) lenses. I never bothered in all the decades I've worn contacts, but they've gotten so expensive now, I don't mind going to a little extra work to extend their life. This is a safer way to go imho. No worries of neutralizer tablets working, or no longer working because they've been depleted and there's no way of knowing (such as the tablet changing color to notify me), until I insert them in my eyes and see if they burn or not. I can't see going that route when safer alternatives exist. My eyes are too important to risk chemical burns because a neutralizing tablet became depleted or was faulty to begin with. All my personal opinion, FWIW.