Contact Lenses Care

These lenses offer a unique blend of the advantages of both hard and soft lenses. They provide excellent visual acuity, and correct most types of astigmatism better than soft lenses (but not quite as well as conventional hard lenses). The gas-permeable lenses correct astigmatism in the same manner as the hard lenses by forming a perfectly round, smooth inner surface filled with tears. Multifocal gas-permeable lenses are also available for the presbyope. They are almost as durable as hard lenses, and much more so than soft lenses. You can expect gas-permeable lenses to last up to five years. Since the lenses are firm in consistency, they are handled easily and with greater confidence than are soft lenses. They can be accurately reproduced, so there are none of the surprises that can occur when reordering a soft lens.

Because oxygen and carbon dioxide can pass directly through the material, the lenses can be worn in comfort for relatively long periods of time with no adverse effects on the cornea. Because the cornea can “breathe” better with these lenses than with conventional hard contact lenses, you have an easier break-in period. There is less chance of the overwear syndrome occurring; less corneal edema occurs (eliminated completely in some wearers); and the reduction in spectacle blur allows you to switch easily from contacts to glasses. There is less of the increased sensitivity to light which may occur with hard lenses.

Greater comfort and longer full-time wear are a boon to every hard-lens wearer but are especially important for those people with special visual defects such as aphakia or keratoconus (misshapen cornea), which can often be satisfactorily corrected only with hard lenses. Such people depend upon their contacts to a much greater extent than those who wear contact lenses for cosmetic purposes.

Because oxygen goes through the material itself, these lenses don’t have to be as small as the hard lenses to enhance oxygen supply to the cornea. Though the size is a factor in the overall fit and comfort, gas-permeable lenses are often slightly larger in diameter than conventional hard lenses. This increase in lens surface gives you better night vision (when the pupil dilates) with none of the annoying—and possibly dangerous— halos or flare that plague the hard-lens wearer. Since the larger diameter makes the lens edge fit under the upper lid, there’s less likelihood of the lens falling out.

You are also able to wear these lenses part time—only socially, or casually—the same as with soft lenses, thus saving them only for weekends, evenings, or other special occasions. Irritation from foreign objects such as dust from the atmosphere is less of a problem with these lenses than with standard hard lenses. This is due to the thinness of the lens, which allows it to cling more tightly to the cornea and to the fact that the lens covers more of the cornea. Of course, at all times, the lensrides on a thin layer of tears.

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