Silicone hydrogel or hydrogel? Which is better for your patient?

“Around 85% of new contact lens fits in the reusable format tend to go into silicone hydrogels, while in the daily disposable category we see a lot more patients in the hydrogel format than we do compared to silicone hydrogels,” Professor Lyndon Jones told OT.

Speaking about the use of silicone hydrogel and hydrogel contact lenses, the director of the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE), asked: “Why do we as practitioners upgrade people’s modality but think about potentially downgrading material?”

Professor Jones shared that when practitioners have been surveyed on this, they refer to cost, concerns about comfort and concerns about silicone allergy.

However, he highlighted that when patients are surveyed on the same subject, they say, ‘Don’t worry about the cost, your job is to tell me what the benefits are of those materials and let me decide if I want to use my spare cash in that way.’