Actual wearing time vs. possession time of contact lenses

Sixty-two subjects who had never worn contact lenses were fitted with various rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses. Contact lens wearing logs kept by the subjects indicated up to an 8-fold difference in total on-the-eye wearing hours among the subject population. Average daily wearing time for the group during the 7 to 12 month interval was 9.42 h/day. These findings show that persons who have had rigid lenses in their possession for 1 year have widely varied wearing times, and that "time from dispensing" does not accurately reflect patient lens use. Wearing schedule "gaps" are frequently due to broken or lost lenses, and perceived lens comfort seems to affect total wearing time significantly.