Advice And Tips About RGP Contact Lenses
For many people with eye disorders or vision problems rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses may be the answer to their problems. RGP contact lenses are also referred to as gas permeable (GP) contacts or oxygen permeable lenses. The beauty behind these contact lenses is that is that people suffering from moderately impaired vision or a severe astigmatism now have the opportunity to improve their vision through the use of contacts for the very first time. Prior to RGP contact lenses there was really only one type of contact lens and it was the hard PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) lens. This form of contact lens did a respectable job of correcting vision problems for many consumers but unfortunately was extremely uncomfortable to wear, especially for long periods of time. In fact, many users complained of a feeling similar to sand or dirt in their eye while wearing these contact lenses. Even worse for many people was the potential eye hazard due to the restriction of oxygen to the eye through the contact lens. As a result of this unhealthy condition research was conducted in order to produce a soft contact lens and shortly thereafter the RGP contact lenses, which became available for mass purchase during the 1980s. Rigid gas permeable lenses are constructed from a silicone base allowing them to be slightly more flexible and able to easily pass oxygen to the eyes unlike their forefathers, the polymethyl methacrylate hard contact lenses. As a result RGP contact lenses are more comfortable to wear for the user and are inherently healthier for your eyes based on their ability to allow more oxygen to reach your eyes. Although RGP contact lenses are just a tad bit more uncomfortable to wear when compared to soft contact lenses they are more durable and provide a better resistance to protein buildups and deposits. They also provide a clearer vision, are easier to clean, are cheaper to buy and have a longer usable life when compared to soft contact lenses. Even with all of these benefits there are still some consumers that prefer soft contacts to RGP contact lenses. Someone who suffers from an astigmatism or has trouble getting the vision correction results they want from soft contacts would benefit more with RGP contacts.
