Survey puts comfort ahead of CL pricing

European contact lens wearers put comfort ahead of price, according to a survey commissioned by CooperVision Europe.

The study, conducted online among 2,142 contact lens wearers across eight European countries including the UK, revealed that over 90 per cent would be willing to pay more for greater all-day comfort and eye health.

The research was conducted among disposable wearers who have worn lenses for more than a year.

Seventy-three per cent of respondents said they currently experienced irritation and dryness with their lenses, particularly at the end of the day, giving rise to 68 per cent saying comfort was the attribute they would most like to see improved.

CooperVision’s European clinical affairs manager John Rogers said: ‘Most contact lens wearers would appear to accept a degree of discomfort when wearing lenses. However, with advanced technologies and manufacturing processes, and product ranges such as Proclear with its unique phosphorylcholine material, discomfort for patients can be an issue of the past.’

On comfort, he referred to a clinical study where 68 per cent of participants preferred Proclear to O2Optix (now renamed AirOptix) and a comparative study of competitive products where 90 per cent of wearers rated Biomedics 1 Day as better or equal to their current lens.

He added that the good news with the internet survey was that it showed high levels of satisfaction among wearers, with 61 per cent choosing their current lens based on their optician’s recommendations.

‘However, they still want improved comfort, further demonstrating the vital role of practitioners as a major source of advice and assurance,’ he said.