HARD CONTACT LENSES

When most people hear about ‘hard contact lenses’ or ‘rigid contact lenses’, they tend to automatically think back to the old hard contact lenses made of rigid plastic.

Today, when ophthalmologists refer to ‘rigid lenses’ they mean gas permeable rigid contact lenses, or RGPs (rigid gas permeables). Rigid contact lenses are actually more akin to soft contact lenses than they are to the old style hard contact lenses, but they offer a number of advantages over soft contact lenses. Some of those advantages are:

Better visual acuity with RGPS

Rigid gas permeable lenses offer better visual acuity than most soft contact lenses. Because soft lenses are made of a thin, gel-like tissue, they tend to conform to the shape of the cornea. RGPs are made of a stiff material incorporating silicone. They retain their shape when you blink, maintaining crisper vision.

More oxygen for your eyes

Healthy eyes require oxygen. While soft contact lenses allow far more oxygen to reach the cornea and other eye tissues than old style contacts made of PMMC, gas permeables were created specifically to facilitate the exchange of oxygen. The silicone material from which they’re made makes them ‘breathable’ – and therefore healthier for your eyes.

RGP rigid contact lenses can help correct astigmatism

Most people with astigmatism have been told that they can’t wear soft contact lenses because their corneas are not round (standard). Because rigid gas permeable lenses keep their own shape, they can actually help correct vision problems caused by astigmatism. Rigid gas permeable lenses give excellent results for visual acuity in bifocal lenses for people with presbyopia.

The major disadvantage of rigid gas permeable contact lenses is that they take a little getting used to. Unlike soft contact lenses, to which most eyes adjust almost immediately, you may need to wear your RGP lenses for a day or two before your eyes adjust so that they fit comfortably. Many people who wear RGP contact lenses also find that their vision is blurry when they remove the lenses and only returns to normal gradually. Coupled with the need to get used to the rigid lenses whenever you don’t wear them for a few days, this may force full-time contact lens wear when you’d prefer not to wear them all the time.

Finally, choosing rigid contact lenses also means that you’ll have to clean them instead of throwing them away. With proper care and cleaning, hard/rigid contact lenses can last for years as long as your prescription doesn’t change.