Positive Responses
Hydrophilic (soft) contact lenses are the most commonly prescribed type of lenses, primarily due to initial comfort. Because of the large size of these lenses (13.0 - 15.5 m/m), lens movement, lid interaction, and subsequent discomfort are minimized. Patient acceptance is very high due to this factor. However, vision is not always so good. With each blink a soft lens flexes, altering the lens to cornea relationship, causing blurred vision. It is common for soft lens wearers to report less than excellent vision, but most seem more than willing to sacrifice acuity for comfort. There is also the problem of astigmatism. Soft lenses mask virtually none. Soft torics are more common today and are of higher quality than in the past but still provide less than excellent vision. All in all, initial comfort, not great vision is the characteristic which has enabled soft lenses to dominate (over 80% market share) the contact lens market for over 15 years.

Gas Permeable lenses can be viewed as the antithesis of soft lenses. Providing excellent acuity and masking substantial astigmatic errors, these smaller (typically 8.5 - 10.5 m/m) lenses do not offer the same level of initial comfort as soft lenses. The constant movement of the lens combined with the interaction of the lids creates a foreign body sensation in the eye. In time, adaptation occurs and the lenses become comfortable. Many patients never adapt. Quite frequently, it is the patient with a demanding visual need that is fit with GP's. It seems that for patients with difficult corrections or acute visual deficiencies, the hope for good vision is the motivating factor in GP wear. Hence, GP's remain only a small percentage of the contact lens market.

*Reported better than GP