What are high water content lenses?

As mentioned above, soft lenses soak up water, and it it this water which allows the eye to “breathe” through the contact lens. Therefore the more water you can make the lens soak up then the easier it is for the Oxygen to pass through it. The original soft contact lenses are now often referred to as “Low Water Content” soft lenses and contain roughly 38% water when hydrated. Manufacturers have spent time and resources perfecting the use of plastics used in lenses and as a a result the water content has risen. A lot of lenses now contain between 50% and 60% water and some contain over 70%. The amazing thing is that only 30% of a 70% water content lenses is actually plastic Lenses having over 65% water content are generally considered to be “High Water Content”, while those between 50% and 65% are called “Mid Water Content” lenses.
This is important for lens comfort and healthy eyes – but high water content lenses may be more fragile, so are more likely to tear with frequent handling. The relationship between water content and oxygen transmission is not the same with lenses made from silicone hydrogel materials which achieve very high levels of oxygen transmission regardless of their water content.

If your eyes less tear, easy to dry eyes, or with a longer time, should try to choose low water content contact lenses, on the contrary, if the eyes more tears, with a relatively short time, you can contain High water contact lenses.