As much as you love how your glasses improve your vision, you wish you could go back to your glasses-free days. Perhaps you want to sport a new makeup look and your glasses get in the way of the overall effect. Or maybe you just want to see clearly without wearing your eyeglasses. Whatever the case, contact lenses present the perfect solution.
With these small, optic devices, you can try out that new makeup tutorial, wear your favorite pair of sunglasses, or participate in sports without worrying about the glasses breaking or falling off. But did you know that you can choose from a few different contact lens options?
Below, we’ll discuss both soft and hard contact lenses. Read on so you can discover which lens option will work best for your eyes.
Hard Contact Lenses
Commonly known as hard contact lenses, rigid gas permeable lenses (RGPs) are rigid lenses that are made from oxygen-permeable polymers. The first hard lenses were made of glass and were invented over 100 years ago. However, modern hard lenses were created in the 1970s.
Original hard lenses were difficult for people to wear since the lenses restricted oxygen flow to the eyes. Once RGPs were invented, hard lenses allowed more oxygen to flow into the wearer’s eyes, reducing dryness and making the lenses more comfortable to wear.
However, these lenses will feel a little uncomfortable when you first wear them. After time, your eyes will adapt and you’ll feel completely comfortable wearing RGP lenses.
Hard lenses replace the natural shape of your cornea, so they appear smaller in size than soft lenses. Because of their makeup and size, hard lenses can actually correct vision for those individuals who suffer from astigmatism. Depending on the severity of your astigmatism, hard lenses may be your only contact lens option.
RGPs also provide the following benefits:
- They are easy to clean, care for, and wear.
- They are incredibly durable, so you don’t have to worry about them tearing as easily as soft contacts.
- They don’t dehydrate, so your eyes won’t dry out as easily from wearing them.
- They come in several different colors.
- They hold their shape, so you are less likely to feel discomfort as you wear them.
- They come in both multifocal and bifocal forms to further enhance your vision.
Like all forms of corrective vision, RGPs do have their disadvantages. For example, their small size makes it easier for them to dislodge from your eyes. They can also get scratched, which can inhibit your vision. Additionally, debris can build up underneath the lenses and create discomfort or inhibit your ability to see clearly.
Soft Lenses
Thanks to modern technology, soft lenses have become some of the most commonly used contact lenses to correct people’s vision. These lenses are made of malleable plastic polymers, so they mold to your eye’s shape. Additionally, these lenses are larger than RGPs. In fact, they are large enough to cover both your cornea and your iris.
In the 1960s, Otto Wichterle, a Czech chemist, invented soft contact lenses. He used a hydrogel and a homemade device to form the lenses. The molding apparatus was actually made from a children’s building kit, a bell transformer, a bicycle dynamo, and molds and glass tubing that he created himself.
Over time, chemists and other eye doctors adjusted the monomers and polymers used in soft lenses to create the lenses we use today.
These lenses are most commonly made of silicone hydrogel to increase each lens’s oxygen permeability and comfort. Soft lenses also provide the following benefits to wearers:
- They are less likely to get dust and debris stuck under them if you clean and wear them properly.
- They feel comfortable almost immediately, unless you put them on inside out.
- They are perfect for irregular wear because they’re so easy to adapt to.
- They come in tinted versions so you can see them more easily.
- They hardly fall out of your eyes, so they’re ideal if you play sports.
- They require a shorter adjustment period
As with RGPs, soft lenses come with their disadvantages as well. For example, soft lenses are less sturdy than RGPs, and you can easily tear them if you aren’t careful. These lenses may also dry out, so your eyes could feel dry until you moisten them. Soft lenses also absorb chemicals (like chlorine from a pool) more easily, which could cause irritated eyes.
Hybrid Lenses
You can also ask your eye doctor about hybrid lenses. This lens option combines both RGPs and soft lenses to provide you with a more comfortable and accurate form of corrective vision. These lenses have a durable, RGP center with a soft skirt on the outside. The center also makes these contacts more breathable so your eyes take in more oxygen.
The RGP center enhances your vision and still corrects for astigmatism, while the soft outer skirt enhances how comfortable the lenses feel in your eyes.
Correct Your Vision in the Way That Serves You Best
Ready to correct your vision without bulky glasses? Get in touch with the All About Eyes location nearest you and schedule an eye exam. Tell the staff at the office that you’d also like to get a contact exam. Your eye doctor must perform a more in-depth eye exam to ensure you receive the right prescription for your contact lenses.
Additionally, this exam will allow your doctor to better determine which lens type best fits your specific eye shape. Schedule your appointment today and start the journey to clearer vision.