Hydrogel contact lens materials: Dead and buried or about to rise again?
A major impediment to the growth of the contact lens market remains the fact that contact lenses induce end-of-day dryness symptoms in some 50% of wearers. This results in poor comfort for the last 2-3 hours of the day in a substantial number of people and is a major driving force behind contact lens dropout, which occurs in some 20-25% of all patients who commence lens wear. Despite the introduction of many new contact lens materials and solutions over the past decade, the percentage of wearers who complain of end-of-day dryness and discomfort has hardly changed in 20 years. Continue reading