{"id":19886,"date":"2021-11-04T11:04:06","date_gmt":"2021-11-04T11:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=19886"},"modified":"2021-11-04T11:04:06","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T11:04:06","slug":"hydrogel-vs-silicone-hydrogel-lenses","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/optical\/guide-to-contact-lenses\/hydrogel-vs-silicone-hydrogel-lenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Hydrogel vs Silicone Hydrogel Lenses"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Soft contact lenses come in hydrogel or silicone hydrogel materials &#8211; but which is best for you?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>The most common types of contact lenses are hydrogel and silicone hydrogel &#8211; these are known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/optical\/guide-to-contact-lenses\/guide-to-soft-contacts-lenses\/\">soft contact lenses.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Both hydrogel and silicone hydrogel lenses are made of a soft water-based plastic material.\u00a0 When hydrated with water or lens solution, the material absorbs moisture and softens the lens and when dry, it hardens.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Hydrogel contact lenses<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Soft contact lenses using hydrogel were first available in the 1980s.<\/p>\n<p>Hydrogel lenses are made from hydrogels, which are gel-like, water-containing polymers. These lenses are extremely thin and malleable, and they adhere to the eye&#8217;s surface.<\/p>\n<p>The majority of soft lenses, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/optical\/guide-to-contact-lenses\/what-are-contact-lenses\/daily-v-monthly-costs\/\">disposable lenses<\/a>, are made from hydrogel.<\/p>\n<p><b>Due to their improved comfort and ease of use, hydrogel lenses have made disposable contacts the first choice for both eye doctors and their patients.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-conditions\/dry-eye\/\">dry and sensitive eyes<\/a>, hydrogel material is frequently the best option due to its particular biocompatibility with the human eye.<\/p>\n<p>When the water in hydrogel lenses gradually evaporates, for example, after many hours of wear or in dry or windy air, the material becomes drier and less comfortable to wear.<\/p>\n<p>When lenses dry out, they allow less oxygen to reach the cornea, for this reason silicone hydrogel lenses were introduced.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">Contact an eye doctor near you<\/a> to learn more which type of material will best suit your eyes.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>SEE RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/optical\/guide-to-contact-lenses\/a-guide-to-contact-lens-solutions\/\">A Guide to Contact Lens Solutions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find an eye doctor near you<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t<form class=\"practice-search-form practice-search-form-widget\" action=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/results\/\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page\" class=\"practice-search-page\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_latitude\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_longitude\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"address\" class=\"practice-search-address\" placeholder=\"City, Surburb or Address\" value=\"\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"practice-search-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M10.6796 0.130005C9.15708 0.130059 7.66615 0.5646 6.38198 1.38258C5.09781 2.20057 4.07373 3.36803 3.43004 4.74783C2.78634 6.12763 2.54976 7.66246 2.74808 9.17205C2.9464 10.6816 3.57139 12.1033 4.54964 13.27L0.729639 17.08C0.6364 17.1732 0.562439 17.2839 0.511979 17.4058C0.461519 17.5276 0.435547 17.6581 0.435547 17.79C0.435547 17.9219 0.461519 18.0524 0.511979 18.1743C0.562439 18.2961 0.6364 18.4068 0.729639 18.5C0.917942 18.6883 1.17334 18.7941 1.43964 18.7941C1.5715 18.7941 1.70207 18.7681 1.82389 18.7177C1.94571 18.6672 2.0564 18.5932 2.14964 18.5L5.99964 14.62C7.35406 15.6038 8.98566 16.1324 10.6596 16.13C12.7814 16.13 14.8162 15.2871 16.3165 13.7869C17.8168 12.2866 18.6596 10.2517 18.6596 8.13C18.6596 6.00827 17.8168 3.97344 16.3165 2.47315C14.8162 0.97286 12.7814 0.130005 10.6596 0.130005H10.6796ZM10.6796 14.13C9.49295 14.13 8.33291 13.7781 7.34622 13.1188C6.35952 12.4595 5.59049 11.5225 5.13636 10.4261C4.68224 9.32975 4.56342 8.12335 4.79493 6.95946C5.02644 5.79558 5.59788 4.72648 6.437 3.88736C7.27611 3.04825 8.34521 2.4768 9.5091 2.24529C10.673 2.01378 11.8794 2.1326 12.9757 2.58673C14.0721 3.04085 15.0092 3.80989 15.6685 4.79658C16.3277 5.78328 16.6796 6.94332 16.6796 8.13C16.6796 9.7213 16.0475 11.2474 14.9223 12.3726C13.7971 13.4979 12.2709 14.13 10.6796 14.13Z\" fill=\"#fff\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"practice-search-use-my-location\">\n\t\t\tSearch near me\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\n\t<\/form>\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<h2><b>Silicone hydrogel contact lenses<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>In the early 2000\u2019s, the first silicone hydrogel contact lenses were made available to patients.<\/p>\n<p><b>This new material used silicone in a contact lens to allow more oxygen to flow to the cornea, increasing the comfort and clinical performance over hydrogel lenses.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Silicone hydrogel lenses are a more porous type of soft contact lens than regular hydrogel lenses, allowing more oxygen to enter the cornea. It&#8217;s a hybrid of hydrogel and silicone that boosts the oxygen permeability of the lenses.<\/p>\n<p>This feature makes them an excellent choice for long-term use.<\/p>\n<p>The drawback of silicone hydrogel lenses is their tendency for the lens to collect more debris and protein deposits from your tears.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Which is better for you?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>There isn&#8217;t such a thing as a one-size-fits-all contact lens, it&#8217;s a matter of determining which option is best for your eyes.<\/p>\n<p>In tests, neither material outperformed the other in terms of comfort, and both had a low incidence of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/optical\/guide-to-contact-lenses\/common-contact-lens-problems\/top-8-contact-lens-problems\/\">contact lens related problems and complications<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The most important distinction between these lenses is your vision, comfort and oxygen flow to the cornea.<\/p>\n<p>Your eye doctor will examine your eyes and provide a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/optical\/guide-to-contact-lenses\/what-are-contact-lenses\/the-contact-lens-exam\/\">comprehensive contact lens exam<\/a> to determine which is best for your individual needs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LEARN MORE:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/optical\/\">Optical and Contact Lenses<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">Contact an eye doctor near you<\/a> to discuss which lenses will best suit your needs.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i>The most common types of contact lenses are hydrogel and silicone hydrogel, known as soft contact lenses.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>Together with your eye doctor, you can learn the benefits of each and determine which is the best choice for you.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soft contact lenses come in hydrogel or silicone hydrogel materials &#8211; but which is best for you? The most common types of contact lenses are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1206,"featured_media":19887,"parent":12548,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19886","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Hydrogel vs Silicone Hydrogel Lenses - Optometrists.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/optical\/guide-to-contact-lenses\/hydrogel-vs-silicone-hydrogel-lenses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hydrogel vs Silicone Hydrogel Lenses - Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Soft contact lenses come in hydrogel or silicone hydrogel materials &#8211; but which is best for you? 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