Gas Permeable Contact Lens

Rigid gas permeable contacts (RGP) is another term for gas permeable contact lens.  It is the counterpart of the soft contact lens. In the 70s, gas permeable contacts were introduced to replace the polymer made contact lenses. The eyes need a lot of oxygen flow to the cornea, that is why gas permeable contacts is apt than the polycarbon kind. On the other hand silicone is oxygen permeable, which will result to a greater comfort and eye health.

If you compare soft contact lens and gas permeable contact lens, the former is easier to get used to.  If you review it properly, its benefits compensate for its detriments. One benefit is gas permeable contact lens retains its shape when one blinks.  Over soft contact lens, it tends to provide a crisper vision.  A gas permeable contact lens is tougher than a soft contact lens because it only breaks when someone steps over it while the latter tears easily.  Another benefit of gas permeable contact lens is they are made of materials that don’t contain water so proteins and lipids from the tears do not stick to the contact lens.  The odds of suffering from eye irritations, infections are very low compared to the soft contact lens.  The best benefit of gas permeable contacts is that they allow oxygen to pass through the corneas.  They prevent serious eye complications like inflammation of the cornea.

Most people prefer using gas permeable contact lenses even if they have different problems.  These people commonly suffer from astigmatism, presbyopia, or keratoconus.  If a person is suffering from astigmatism, it’s preferable to use it because it conforms to their desired sharpness.  Others who are afflicted with presbyopia prefers gas permeable contact lens because of its multi-focal designs.  On the other hand, people with keratoconus use these lenses because it prevents extreme visual distortion.  Gas permeable contacts are also highly recommended for use in extremely dry conditions, since their primary user tend to blink less.  This is exactly the basis of people who often use the computer to use gas permeable contact lens.


However, a gas permeable contact lens needs more effort for maintenance because they last longer than soft contact lens.  Just a final note, you need to go to an eye care specialist first before even buying a contact lens.