Many patients who require specialty contact lenses often deal with issues like extreme dry eye and fogging while wearing lenses. One of the ways we add extra comfort to custom contact lenses is by adding a coating called Hydra-PEG to the lenses.
Manufactured by Tangible, Hydra-PEG works to increase your lens' wettability, decrease fogging, and reduce deposits sticking to the lens surface, which can be particularly helpful for patients with dry eye and extreme sensitivity overall. Hydra-PEG coating is permanently bonded to the surface of gas-permeable lenses (like RGP's and sclerals) when the lens is manufactured.
Does Hydra-PEG coating wear off? Various factors may impact the durability of the coating's benefits, including a patient’s tear composition (i.e. heavy depositors), use of incompatible cleaners, overly vigorous rubbing during cleaning, and use of tap water for rubbing or rinsing and storing lenses dry. These factors may wear down the coating and reduce its benefits, but the coating will still remain on the lenses and will continue to provide a more comfortable lens-wearing experience than uncoated lenses.
Can Hydra-PEG be recoated? Only on certain lenses - some lenses are unable to be recoated, and some are able to be sent back to the manufacturer to be re-coated for a small fee. Ask your doctor about the type of lens you have and they will be able to confirm if this is possible with your lenses.
For this reason, Dr. Morrison recommends that patients with the Hydra-PEG coating on their lenses use Tangible cleaning products on their lenses. Order your lens cleaning products from Tangible here or email us here to let us know if you'd like us to prescribe them.
Helpful links from Tangible: The 8 Most Common Tangible Hydra-PEG Questions Tangible Hydra-PEG Contact Lens Care Tips