{"product_id":"sodium-chloride-saline-ampoules-20x5ml","title":"Sodium Chloride 0.9% Saline Ampoules 20 × 5ml — Preservative-Free Single-Use Saline for Scleral \u0026 RGP Lenses (Fresenius Kabi)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e✔ Stock on hand — ships NZ-wide from Rose Optometry, Hamilton.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFresenius Kabi Sodium Chloride 0.9% — 20 × 5 mL single-use ampoules, $13.80.\u003c\/strong\u003e Plain sterile saline with nothing in it but sodium chloride and water: no preservative, no buffer, no additives. One snap-top ampoule is one application — enough to fill a scleral lens or rinse a pair of rigid or ortho-k lenses — and the rest goes in the bin. This is the saline we hand scleral lens wearers across the counter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat it is\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSodium Chloride Injection BP 0.9%\u003c\/strong\u003e (Fresenius Kabi, AUST R 197200): each 5 mL ampoule contains sodium chloride 45 mg in Water for Injections, with hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide for pH adjustment only.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSterile and preservative-free.\u003c\/strong\u003e Isotonic — close to the salt concentration of your own tears.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSingle-use plastic ampoules, 20 per box.\u003c\/strong\u003e Snap the top, use, discard. Nothing is left open long enough to grow anything.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLabelled by the manufacturer for use as a sterile irrigation medium among other clinical uses; we supply it for contact lens rinsing and scleral lens filling as advised by our optometrists.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWho it's for\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eScleral lens wearers\u003c\/strong\u003e — filling the bowl of the lens before insertion. The filling solution sits sealed against your cornea all day, so it must be sterile and preservative-free (non-preserved sodium chloride saline has long been the standard reservoir fluid), and a single-use ampoule is the cleanest way to guarantee that.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOrtho-k and RGP wearers\u003c\/strong\u003e — a final rinse of cleaner residue before the lens goes on the eye.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eKeratoconus patients\u003c\/strong\u003e in scleral or rigid lenses, for the same reasons.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTravel\u003c\/strong\u003e — 5 mL ampoules sit well under the cabin-liquids limit, and there is no opened bottle to use up within a set period.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHow to use\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWash and dry your hands. Clean the lens as your optometrist prescribed — saline rinses, it does not clean or disinfect.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwist or snap off the top of one ampoule. Don't touch the open tip.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eScleral lenses: fill the bowl of the lens to the brim so there is no air bubble, then insert. Rigid and ortho-k lenses: rinse the lens over a plugged sink and insert.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDiscard the opened ampoule and anything left in it. Never save the remainder for later.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNever store lenses in saline overnight — that is not disinfection. Never rinse lenses or cases in tap water. Follow the care regime your own optometrist prescribed for your lenses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eQuestions we get asked\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy does the box say \"Injection\"?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBecause that is how Fresenius Kabi registers this saline: a sterile 0.9% sodium chloride in water for injections, sold in hospitals and pharmacies. Non-preserved sodium chloride saline is the traditional scleral lens filling fluid, and plain single-use ampoules like these are the practical way to get it in New Zealand, where the purpose-made buffered filling solutions sold overseas are not readily available. We are not suggesting you inject anything — this is for your lenses, on the advice of your optometrist. A few wearers do better with a buffered, tear-like filling solution; if plain saline leaves you gritty or foggy, tell us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIsn't a 355 ml bottle of lens saline better value?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePer millilitre, yes. The catch is that a preservative-free bottle has to be thrown out within a set period after opening, and every time it is opened the tip can be contaminated. For filling a scleral lens we prefer a fresh ampoule each time; a large bottle is sensible for volume rinsing. Our article on \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/eye-health\/saline-for-scleral-and-rigid-lenses-nz\"\u003ewhich saline is safe for scleral and rigid lenses\u003c\/a\u003e sets out the difference and names the salines that must never go in a scleral lens.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan I use nasal saline, wound saline or piercing saline instead?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnly if the label shows nothing but sodium chloride and water, and no preservative. Many of those products are buffered or preserved, and a preserved saline sealed under a scleral lens for twelve hours is a recipe for a red, stinging eye. If in doubt, bring the bottle in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan I put it in my eye as a drop?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt won't harm you, but it isn't a lubricant and it washes straight out. For dry eyes you want a proper preservative-free lubricant such as \u003ca href=\"\/products\/theratears-dry-eye-hydration\"\u003eTheraTears Dry Eye Hydration\u003c\/a\u003e or \u003ca href=\"\/products\/theratears-extra-dry-eye-hydration\"\u003eTheraTears EXTRA\u003c\/a\u003e, which can also go in over a lens.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDoes it disinfect my lenses?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNo. Saline rinses and fills. Disinfection is a separate solution and a separate step — \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/rgp-ortho-k-lens-care-nz\"\u003eRGP \u0026amp; Ortho-K lens care\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/scleral-specialty-lens-care-nz\"\u003eScleral \u0026amp; specialty lens care\u003c\/a\u003e have the full routines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMy lens fogs up part-way through the day — will a different saline fix it?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSometimes. Midday fogging affects somewhere between a quarter and a half of scleral lens wearers, and has several causes — debris in the reservoir, the fit of the lens, the lids and the tear film itself. Switching to a clean single-use, non-preserved saline is the first, cheapest thing to try; if it keeps happening, book in so we can look at the fit and the reservoir. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.myhealth1st.com.au\/appointmentWidget\/?practiceId=9357\u0026amp;treatmentId=21882\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eBook a keratoconus \/ specialty lens appointment\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy buy from Rose Optometry\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndependent, optometrist-owned New Zealand practice fitting scleral, RGP and ortho-k lenses in Hamilton since 1969.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFree optometrist advice with every order: reply to your order email and a clinician answers.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFree NZ shipping on orders over $100, sent from Hamilton.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Fresenius Kabi","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":68400638918937,"sku":"FK-NACL09-5ML-20","price":13.8,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0793\/9263\/7209\/files\/fresenius-kabi-sodium-chloride-0-9-saline-ampoules-20x5ml-nz.jpg?v=1793758780","url":"https:\/\/store.roseoptom.co.nz\/products\/sodium-chloride-saline-ampoules-20x5ml","provider":"Rose Optometry","version":"1.0","type":"link"}