Comfort response to rigid and soft hyper-transmissible contact lenses used for continuous wear.

PURPOSE: To assess subjective comfort during the first three months of continuous wear of hyper-transmissible soft and rigid contact lenses. METHODS: One hundred subjects (50 experienced wearers and 50 neophytes) were fitted with either the Focus Night & Day lens (CIBA Vision, Duluth, GA) or the Z alpha lens (Menicon, Nagoya, Japan). Comfort was monitored at regular intervals using a vertical analog comfort scale. RESULTS: Good comfort scores (generally indicating very comfortable lenses) were recorded for the two soft lens groups (experienced and neophytes) and the experienced rigid lens group; these scores remained approximately constant throughout the study. Comfort reported by neophyte rigid lens wearers was initially recorded as being between slightly uncomfortable and comfortable; however, after 1 week of daily wear and 1 night of overnight wear, the mean comfort score of this group reached a level that was similar to that recorded by subjects in the other three study groups. CONCLUSION: The comfort data presented in this study can be used by clinicians to anticipate the subjective response of both new and existing lens wearers to new-generation hyper-transmissible soft and rigid contact lenses.