Signs and Symptoms of Dry Eye Among Silicone Hydrogel Soft Contact Lens Wearers

Abstract

Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses (SiH CL) provides better comfort when compared with hydrogel contact lenses. But the signs that show up in wearers with reduced comfort are unclear. Thus, we aimed to study the association between symptoms and clinical signs of dry eye in SiH CL wearers. Forty-eight SiH CL wearers (mean age: 28.8 ± 5.0 years) underwent ocular assessments with and without contact lens, and completed Contact Lens Dry Eye questionnaire-8 (CLDEQ-8). Contact-lens related dryness was reported by 52.1% (n=25) subjects. A significant (p<0.01) Spearman’s correlation was found between CLDEQ-8 score and pre-lens tear film non-invasive tear break-up time (r=-0.80), pre-ocular tear film non-invasive tear break-up time (r=-0.78), invasive tear break-up time (-0.87), and Schirmer test (r=-0.83). In conclusion, for comfortable SiH CL usage, a healthy tear film is essential, and a thorough clinical evaluation may be beneficial in alleviating discomfort.