Join the SiH revolution urges Professor Efron

Prescribing of silicone hydrogel contact lenses in the UK is lagging behind other countries despite this being the 'test bed' for many international lens companies.

Delivering the 5th BCLA Pioneers Lecture in London last week, Professor Nathan Efron of the Queensland University of Technology said that over the past 10 years a new SiH material had been had been introduced each year, with three new lenses in 2008 alone.

SiH lenses had taken about a third of the market in the UK but the uptake was low compared with many countries, he said. An interactive vote among 200 BCLA members in the audience showed that cost was the primary reason for not fitting the lenses, followed by reduced comfort and poor wetting.