Exhibit 23
                                                               
              Consent of Independent Accountants


We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in the
Registration Statements on Form S-8 (Nos. 2-56066, 2-85158,
33-15439 and 33-35667) and in the Prospectuses constituting part
of the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Nos. 33-51117 and
333-45223) of Bausch & Lomb Incorporated of our report dated
January 26, 1999 appearing in the 1998 Annual Report to
Shareholders of Bausch & Lomb Incorporated which is incorporated
in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.  We also consent to the
incorporation by reference of our above report on the Financial
Statement Schedule.






PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Rochester, New York
March 22, 1999
                               
                               
                               
                                                     Exhibit 23
                               
   Report of Independent Accountants on Financial Statement
                           Schedule
                               
                               
To the Board of Directors of
Bausch & Lomb Incorporated


Our audits of the consolidated financial statements referred to
in our report dated January 26, 1999 appearing in the 1998
Annual Report to Shareholders of Bausch & Lomb Incorporated
(which report and consolidated financial statements are
incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on
Form 10-K) also included an audit of the Financial Statement
Schedule listed in Item 14(a)2 of this Form 10-K.  In our
opinion, this Financial Statement Schedule presents fairly, in
all material respects, the information set forth therein when
read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial
statements.






PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Rochester, New York
March 22, 1999