Rigid Gas Parmeable (GP, RGP) Contact Lenses

The benefit of gas permeable contact lenses is that they not only have two optical systems to work with, but instead three. In addition to the lens of your own eye and the contact lens itself, a GP contact lens makes use of a third component, the tear fluid located between the two. This tear fluid is quite basically water but has a fraction index which makes up an actual lens in optic terms.

There are some important factors in regards to gas permeable lenses that need to be considered before making any permanent decisions.

• GP lenses do not sit still on your eye. They follow the flow of the lid in upward and downward motions. This type of movement is necessary for the fluid exchange which is required to make this type of contact lens work properly.
• The main problem with GP contact lenses is that the first pair doesn't always fit. This can be an expensive type of trial and error. It can be difficult to find the right pair to fit your own eye shape.
• Studies have been recently stating that people with astigmatism can actually benefit in more ways than one from choosing GP contact lenses. They are less expensive than fully corrective lenses and the fluid may even have the ability to lessen the affects of astigmatism.

It can be difficult to adapt to this type of contact lens in the beginning, even if you have worn contacts in the past. Many opticians will recommend this type of lens for people suffering from specific eye conditions or for those rare patients who have trouble finding the right pair of lenses. Never exclude this type of lens from your decision list, there are many medical benefits which can be found within this unique form of vision correction.