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Some second generation silicone hydrogel lenses (SiHs) are being specifically introduced and increasingly prescribed for daily wear (DW), despite having originally been developed for extended wear nearly a decade ago. Wearing SiHs for DW means patients benefit from high oxygen performance, without the increased risk of infection with overnight wear.
The benefits of these novel materials do not come without some issues such as potential mechanical complications with higher modulus materials and differences in wettability compared to conventional hydrogels.1,2 Lower modulus materials are being introduced, and a range of material modification techniques are used - such as lens surface plasma oxidation or internal wetting agents - to overcome the hydrophobicity of the lens surface and improve wettability. The techniques vary in their effectiveness, with some areas on the lens remaining hydrophobic, affecting wettability and attracting lipid.
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