Month: May 2020

2020-05-13T08:21:16

(BPT) – With the COVID-19 pandemic altering our daily lives, it’s especially important to take care of yourself — and not to overlook other health conditions you may be living with. That’s particularly true of dry eye disease, an inflammatory condition that affects more than 16 million people in the U.S., and which can mimic or be exacerbated by seasonal allergy symptoms. If you’re one of those people and you’re venturing outside, the bright sunlight and invisible molecules in the air — mold, pollen and dust — can aggravate your dry eyes. Staying indoors can also be tricky, given the prevalence of household dust and allergens and the stress on your eyes from excessive screen time. What can you do to get relief?

“People with consistent dry eye should speak with their eye care professional about the problem,” says Dr. Barry Lee, a corneal specialist and ophthalmologist with Eye Consultants of Atlanta. “A diagnosis of dry eye disease means you do not have enough quality tears to lubricate and nourish the eye. This condition occurs for a variety of reasons, including age, gender, medications, medical and environmental conditions, and long-term use of contact lenses.”

Dry eye requires long-term management. If your dry eyes are bothering you, there are some simple things you can try to reduce symptoms:

• Wear sunglasses when you go outside to reduce your exposure to the sun and drying wind
• Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration (aim for 8 to 10 glasses per day)
• Blink regularly while reading or looking at a phone or computer screen
• Increase the humidity in the air at home and at work
• Reduce use of contact lenses

“If your symptoms persist after trying these at-home steps, it’s time to call your eye care professional — either an optometrist or ophthalmologist,” adds Dr. Lee. “Even if the clinic is closed or isn’t scheduling appointments for months out, you may be able to do a remote consultation. If you’ve already been diagnosed your eye care professional may be able to help you to switch treatment strategies remotely, especially if you’re not getting relief from your current treatment or it’s causing side effects.”

CEQUA™ (cyclosporine ophthalmic solution) 0.09%: The latest prescription therapy for dry eye disease

Tears are necessary for eye health and clear vision. Every time you blink, a thin layer of your tears spreads over the front surface of the eye, but people with dry eye disease do not have enough tears to keep the eye properly lubricated.

Cyclosporine is a proven and trusted treatment for dry eye disease. CEQUA, the latest dry eye prescription therapy, features a unique formulation of cyclosporine that incorporates NCELL™, an advanced technology that helps get more of the medicine into your eye where it is needed most. This is essential to keeping the surface of the eye smooth and clear, reducing the risk of infection, and washing away particles such as dust and allergens.

Dr. Lee comments, “CEQUA is an important treatment option for dry eye disease, as it is the only prescription medicine with the highest FDA-approved concentration of cyclosporine, and its unique nanomicellar technology improves its ocular penetration into tissues to address the underlying cause of dry eye disease.”

Get CEQUA delivered for free without leaving your home

If you are already on a dry eye medication that isn’t working, or if you haven’t yet been diagnosed, contact your eye doctor to discuss your symptoms and explore treatment options. If they prescribe CEQUA, they can submit your prescription to Cequa Support™ Specialty Pharmacy — a home delivery service available to commercially insured patients. Depending on your insurance coverage, you may be able to get CEQUA at the lowest out-of-pocket cost as well as free home delivery. This means that if you qualify, you can get your prescription filled and delivered without stepping out of your home.

Once your prescription is submitted, you will receive a call from a Cequa Support representative within one business day. While on the call, a CEQUA Support Pharmacy representative will confirm your insurance, potential cost, mailing address and payment method. Upon approval, your CEQUA prescription will be delivered directly to your home within three to five business days. No signature is required and delivery is always free. Remember, it is important that you keep using CEQUA and follow your eye doctor’s instructions to make sure you get the most from your treatment.

To learn more about CEQUA, Cequa Support, and NCELL technology, visit www.CEQUA.com

INDICATIONS AND USAGE

CEQUA (cyclosporine ophthalmic solution) 0.09% is a calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant indicated to increase tear production in patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye).

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Potential for Eye Injury and Contamination: To avoid the potential for eye injury and contamination, advise patients not to touch the vial tip to the eye or other surfaces.

Use with Contact Lenses: CEQUA should not be administered while wearing contact lenses. If contact lenses are worn, they should be removed prior to administration of the solution. Lenses may be reinserted 15 minutes following administration of CEQUA ophthalmic solution.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

The most common adverse reactions reported in greater than 5% of patients were pain on instillation of drops (22%) and conjunctival hyperemia (6%). Other adverse reactions reported in 1% to 5% of patients were blepharitis, eye irritation, headache, and urinary tract infection.

Please click for Full Prescribing Information & for more information visit CEQUA.com

2020-05-12T12:07:00

(BPT) – During these difficult times, millions of Americans have been furloughed, laid off, or may yet lose employment due to the pandemic. And because insurance is tied to employment for a vast majority of workers, this can mean facing the loss of insurance coverage as well as your income.

What can you do if you’ve already been impacted, or if you are likely to be soon?

Here are some options available if you are coping with this difficult situation.

Plan ahead if possible.

If a layoff may be in your future, it’s a good time to prepare. In today’s environment, it is possible that in some states insurers may allow you to obtain a larger-than-usual supply of prescription medications, for example.

Also, if your health care provider recommends it, this could be a good time to take care of vital health care screenings. Consult your provider about which screenings are essential for you, and proper safeguards to take during doctor visits.

Ask about COBRA.

Talk to your employer about the possibility of getting COBRA to continue coverage. With COBRA, you may be able to keep your current job-based plan for a limited time (usually 18 months). This may even be the case if your hours are simply reduced rather than being let go entirely. Make sure to ask questions about the full cost of this coverage, as it can be expensive to maintain.

Talk to your spouse.

Discuss being added to your partner’s health insurance coverage if that’s possible. Insurers may allow changes outside the open enrollment period for circumstances such as these.

Check the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Visit healthcare.gov to see if you are eligible for enrolling in a state or federally subsidized health plan, or if you qualify for Medicaid. Coverage options vary greatly, depending on where you live and your individual circumstances.

Losing your coverage due to job loss may mean you can benefit from a “special enrollment period” rather than waiting for the normal open enrollment period that occurs each year. Be prepared to provide detailed financial information as part of the lengthy application process for subsidized health insurance.

Opt for individual vision and dental insurance.

If you need to be seen for your annual eye exam, to get new glasses, or to maintain your contact lens supply, you may worry about not having these crucial vision services covered when you lose benefits or have them reduced.

Fortunately, there are convenient, low-cost options available for both vision and dental insurance. Check out VSPdirect.com for information about their vision plans, which start as low as $13 per month. VSP has the largest network of independent doctors in the U.S. VSP can also help you find low-cost options for your dental coverage through our partnership with Guardian.

With VSP, there are no enrollment restrictions, so you can purchase a plan at any time, without waiting, no matter what your circumstances. VSP is also a great option for retirees and people who are self-employed. You can start using your vision plan benefits within five business days from enrolling in an annual plan and making your payment.

New to getting individual coverage? Check out the VSP vision plan wizard to guide you to the right coverage for your specific circumstances.