Johnson and Johnson reports improved comfort with hydrogel lenses

Johnson & Johnson has announced the results of clinical research showing that in most surroundings contact lens wearers using daily-wear silicon hyrdrogel contact lenses have improved comfort compared with those using hydrogel lenses.

Furthermore, the company reports that during visually taxing tasks and in adverse environments, second-generation hydrogel lenses manufactured using senofilcon A and galyfilcon A can lower the incidence of dryness, discomfort and other similar ocular symptoms.

The study involved 500 contact lens wearers aged between 18 and 40 at 48 sites across the US, with over 80 per cent of those studied wearing their lenses frequently everyday, while less than 40 per cent wearing them frequently in adverse conditions.

Robin Chalmers, independent clinical researcher specialising in contact lens epidemiology, said: “Contact lens wearers frequently put up with environmentally-triggered discomfort because they need to continue wearing lenses while working, travelling, or in other situations.”

Dr Chalmers added that individuals struggling with this discomfort in these situations may consequently compromise their ability to comfortably wear contact lenses in everyday situations.

In November 2006, Johnson & Johnson announced the results of a study showing that silicone hydrogel contact lenses can alleviate problems commonly reported by wearers of soft contact lenses.