Scleral Lens Saline Compared: LacriPure, ScleralFil and the Alternatives
Start with the thing that matters most: saline does not disinfect your lenses.
It fills them and it rinses them. It has no antimicrobial action whatsoever — which is exactly why preservative-free saline comes in single-use vials, because there is nothing in it to stop the solution itself becoming contaminated once opened.
Disinfection is a separate step with a separate product. If saline is the only thing in your routine, your lenses are not being disinfected. We say this first because it is the misunderstanding most likely to cause harm, and because plenty of published material — including, until this rewrite, an earlier version of this page — blurs the two.
With that established, here is how the salines actually compare.
What every acceptable option has in common
Before brand names, the non-negotiables. A saline you put inside a scleral lens must be:
- Preservative-free. The solution sits against your cornea for the entire day inside the lens reservoir. Preservatives that are tolerable in a drop used four times a day are not appropriate for that kind of sustained contact.
- Sterile, and intended for ophthalmic use. Not “saline” from any other context.
- Used once. Single-use vials are opened, used and discarded. A part-used vial kept for tomorrow is a contamination risk, and that is the whole reason for the format.
Any product meeting those three is a reasonable candidate. Most of the differences below matter less than people expect.
The options you will come across
LacriPure (Menicon) — preservative-free saline in single-use vials, made specifically for filling and rinsing scleral and other specialty lenses. Widely used and widely available, and the one many practices default to.
ScleralFil (Bausch + Lomb) — preservative-free saline, also in single-use vials, also made for scleral lens application. Functionally the direct alternative to LacriPure, and the comparison people search for most.
Nutrifill — another preservative-free filling solution you may be offered or may see recommended in patient groups.
PuriLens Plus — preservative-free saline, available in a larger format.
Which is best? Honestly: for most eyes, any of them. The differences that actually show up in practice are packaging convenience, whether the formulation is buffered, availability where you are, and — occasionally, and unpredictably — individual comfort. Some patients notice a real difference between two of these. Many notice none at all.
If your eyes are comfortable and your vision is stable on what you are using, there is no reason to change. Switching saline is something to try when there is a problem to solve, not routine maintenance.
When switching is worth trying
Three situations where changing product genuinely helps:
Comfort that fades late in the day. If your eyes feel fine in the morning and irritated by evening, trying a buffered formulation instead of a non-buffered one (or the reverse) is a reasonable experiment. Buffered solutions resist pH shifts; some wearers are noticeably more comfortable on them and others notice nothing. The chemistry is on our buffered versus non-buffered saline page.
Stinging on insertion. Usually tonicity or pH interacting with a compromised ocular surface. Worth changing product — and worth us looking at the surface itself, because stinging often points at the eye rather than the bottle.
Supply problems. Practical rather than clinical, and a real reason to know which alternatives are equivalent. If your usual product is unavailable, you should not be improvising.
What is not a good reason to switch: a recommendation in a patient forum from someone whose eyes are nothing like yours. Scleral lens groups are genuinely useful for technique and encouragement, and less reliable on products.
What never goes in a scleral lens
This list is short and the rule is absolute.
- Tap water. Not for filling, not for rinsing, not for the case.
- Bottled or distilled water. Not sterile, wrong tonicity, and no safer than tap.
- Homemade saline. Salt and water is not a sterile ophthalmic solution.
- Multipurpose soft lens solution. Contains preservatives and conditioning agents never intended to sit against a cornea all day.
- Rewetting drops as a filling solution. Formulated to go on the eye, not to fill a reservoir. Some are fine to add on top of an already-filled lens — check which rather than assuming.
The water rule exists because of Acanthamoeba and similar waterborne organisms, which cause corneal infections that are hard to treat and can threaten sight. It is the one place in scleral lens care where there is no acceptable shortcut.
Where disinfection fits
To restate it, because it is the point of this page:
- Saline fills and rinses. No antimicrobial action.
- A disinfecting system — typically hydrogen peroxide based — kills organisms on the lens overnight. See cleaning scleral lenses step by step.
- A cleaner removes deposits and protein, which is a different job again.
A complete routine has all three. A routine with only saline has one, and the missing pieces are the ones that protect your cornea. If you are unsure what yours should look like, bring your current products to your next visit and we will go through them — that is a five-minute conversation that prevents the problem we most want to avoid.
The full daily routine is on scleral lens care: cleaning, solutions and daily maintenance.
Getting supplies, and getting advice
We stock and recommend preservative-free saline for our own scleral lens patients, and we set up your routine at the fitting rather than leaving you to work it out from the internet. If a product becomes unavailable, ask us for the equivalent instead of substituting something that looks similar.
Dr. Shira Kresch, OD, MS, FAAO fits scleral lenses at Michigan Contact Lens in Southfield, serving Metro Detroit. If you already wear sclerals — fitted here or anywhere else — and your comfort has drifted, or you are not sure your routine is actually disinfecting anything, that is worth a visit.
Scleral Lens Saline Questions
- Does saline disinfect scleral lenses?
No, and this is the most important thing to understand about it. Preservative-free saline fills the lens and rinses it — it has no antimicrobial action at all. That is precisely why it comes in single-use vials: there is no preservative in it to stop the solution itself becoming contaminated. Disinfection is a separate step with a separate product, usually a hydrogen peroxide system. If you are only using saline, your lenses are not being disinfected.
- What is the difference between LacriPure and ScleralFil?
Both are preservative-free salines intended for filling and rinsing scleral lenses, and either is an appropriate choice. They differ in packaging, in whether the formulation is buffered, and in availability — and in practice, in which one a given eye is more comfortable with. Some patients notice a clear difference between them; many notice none. If your eyes are comfortable and your vision is stable on what you have, there is no reason to switch.
- Can I use rewetting drops or multipurpose solution to fill my lenses?
No. Multipurpose soft lens solutions contain preservatives and other agents that are not intended to sit against your cornea for a full day inside a scleral lens reservoir, and rewetting drops are formulated to go on the eye rather than to fill a lens. Use a saline made for scleral lens application, and check with us before adding any drop to the reservoir — we keep a list of what is compatible.
- Why can I not use tap or distilled water?
Because of what lives in it. Waterborne organisms — Acanthamoeba in particular — cause corneal infections that are difficult to treat and can be sight-threatening, and they are found in tap water, bottled water, distilled water and swimming pools. Distilled water is also not sterile and has the wrong tonicity for the eye. This is the single firmest rule in scleral lens care: solution only, every time, with no exceptions.
- Does the saline I use need to be buffered?
Not necessarily. Buffered solutions resist pH shifts, which some patients find more comfortable over a long day; non-buffered solutions are simpler and suit plenty of wearers perfectly well. Neither is universally better, and the honest answer is that it is worth trying the alternative if comfort drops off late in the day. We go into the chemistry on our buffered versus non-buffered page.
- How much saline should I use to fill the lens?
Fill the bowl of the lens until the solution is slightly domed above the rim — enough that it holds a meniscus. Under-filling is the most common cause of a bubble under the lens, which shows up as a blurred or shadowed patch in your vision. If you are getting bubbles regularly, it is usually a filling or insertion technique issue rather than a fault with the lens.
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Michigan Contact Lens fits scleral and specialty lenses for keratoconus, irregular corneas, corneal transplants, and severe dry eye.