Table 2.

Reported frequency of responses to water exposure perception questions by lens type.

		SOFT CONTACT LENSES	GAS PERMEABLE LENSES
		Frequency (%)	Frequency (%)
RINSE LENSES TAP ‡ WATER
	Is Likely to Cause Infection	564 (59)	15 (19)	<0.0001
	Has Little / No Effect	360 (38)	49 (62)
	Prevents Infection	32 (3)	15 (19)
RINSE LENSES DISTILLED‡ WATER	Is Likely to Cause Infection	209 (22)	2 (3)
	Has Little / No Effect	582 (61)	39 (49)	<0.0001
	Prevents Infection	162 (17)	38 (48)
RINSE LENSES SOLUTION
	Is Likely to Cause Infection	12 (1)	0
	Has Little / No Effect	91 (10)	10 (13)	0.43
	Prevents Infection	849 (89)	70 (87)
STORE LENSES TAP WATER	Is Likely to Cause Infection	723 (76)	34 (43)
	Has Little / No Effect	211 (22)	45 (57)	<0.0001
	Prevents Infection	22 (2)	0
STORE LENSES DISTILLED WATER
	Is Likely to Cause Infection	313 (33)	9 (11)
	Has Little / No Effect	527 (55)	50 (63)	<0.0001
	Prevents Infection	113 (12)	20 (25)
LENS WEAR SHOWERING	Is Likely to Cause Infection	134 (14)	6 (8)
	Has Little / No Effect	799 (84)	73 (92)	0.095
	Prevents Infection	22 (2)	0
LENS WEAR SWIMMING
	Is Likely to Cause Infection	604 (63)	46 (58)
	Has Little / No Effect	336 (35)	33 (42)	0.30
	Prevents Infection	15 (2)	0
LENS WEAR HOT TUBS	Is Likely to Cause Infection	355 (37)	26 (33)
	Has Little / No Effect	586 (61)	52 (66)	0.74
	Prevents Infection	12 (1)	1 (1)

^‡Rinsing with distilled water was perceived with less risk of infection than rinsing with tap water for SCL wearers (p<0.0001) and GP wearers (p<0.0001).

Storing lenses in distilled water was perceived with less risk of infection than storing lenses in tap water for SCL wearers (p<0.0001) and GP wearers (p<0.0001).