Gas Permeable Contact Lenses

Gas Permeable (GP) contact lenses are also known as Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) contact lenses. Although they are made of harder material, it still allows for even oxygen flow into the eyes. This increases comfort and safety while you wear them. They have yet to become very popular, but with ever-advancing technology and their many advantages, GP contact lenses will quickly become a well-favored alternative to soft lenses.

Advantages Of GP Contact Lenses

The strong material that makes up these contact lenses offers a multitude of benefits, including:

Health and Hygiene

Rigid Gas Permeable contact lenses do not contain any water due to their rigid nature, which discourages the growth of eye infection-causing bacteria. In turn, this also prevents buildup from cosmetic products such as lotions, creams, and makeup, ensuring that your eyes remain cleaner and healthier. 

The rigidity associated with gas permeable lenses means they can easily retain their shape while you clean and disinfect them, further encouraging them to last longer when well taken care of.

Comfort

RGP contact lenses are completely customized to your eye. We take into account the eye’s curve, size, and corneal shape to achieve a perfect, comfortable fit. To make them even more comfortable, their ability to allow oxygen through to the eyes reduces other eye problems that may be associated with contact lenses, such as dry eyes.

Although GP lenses are smaller in diameter than soft contact lenses and therefore cover less of your eye’s surface, many of our Chalmette optometrist’s patients find that they are either equally as comfy as soft contact lenses, or even comfier.

Improved Vision

Unlike soft contact lenses, rigid lenses maintain their shape and move with your eyes, helping you maintain stable and clear vision.

Increased Cost Effectiveness

Since gas permeable lenses are perfectly customized to your eyes, they are made to order. Although you will have to make an initial investment of time and money, the fact that they last far longer than soft contacts means you don’t need to buy them as often. 

Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lenses For Astigmatism

These are ideal for patients with astigmatism who have been told in the past that they can’t wear contact. Astigmatic patients see the world in a very blurry manner, so contact lenses that stay in place at all times are crucial to giving them clarity.

Getting Used to RGP Contacts

Adapting to rigid contact lenses is a bit of a process. This is because their rigidness means you can feel the edge of the lenses whenever you blink–an experience known as “lens awareness”. This period should only last a few weeks, but will result in lasting, high-quality comfort.

Rigid Contact Lenses For Myopia and Ortho-K

Plenty of research has shown that GP contacts may effectively prevent a patient’s myopia (nearsightedness) from worsening, especially in children. Gas permeable contact lenses are also utilized in Ortho-K (Orthokeratology), which is a procedure that corrects your vision by wearing lenses at night to reshape your cornea, resulting in improved day-time vision.