Delayed hypersensitivity to thimerosal in soft contact lens wearers.

Thirty-eight patients were examined because of ocular redness, irritation, and corneal changes apparently related to soft contact lens wear. The corneal changes were transient and ranged from faint epithelial opacities to a coarse, punctate epithelial keratopathy. Solutions containing thimerosal had been used by all of the patients for lens care, and 31 responded to an ocular challenge with a thimerosal-preserved lens lubricant. Twenty-seven of these 31 also reacted to thimerosal patch testing. The 31 resumed lens wear with relief of symptoms by using unit-dose, preservative-free saline for lens storage and thermal disinfection. A hypersensitivity to thimerosal was assumed responsible for the clinical findings.