ore than 34 million Americans wear contact lenses,
yet many people are still unfamiliar with GP contacts.
There are three types of contact lenses:
- GP lenses;
- Hard (PMMA) lenses, which are the original type of contact lens and are now obsolete; and
- Soft lenses, the most common type of contact lens, first introduced in 1971.
GP contact lenses are also known in the
vision care field as rigid gas permeables, or RGPs. Your eye doctor will probably call
them GPs or RGPs.
GP contacts are made of a firm, durable plastic that
transmits oxygen. They offer excellent eye health: because they don't contain water,
they resist deposits and are less likely than soft contacts to harbor bacteria. GP contact lenses clean and disinfect easily, don't dehydrate, and last longer than
soft lenses -- often many years longer.
The rigidity of GP contacts also means they are
easier to handle than soft lenses. And since they retain their shape better, they provide
crisper vision.
Don't confuse GP contacts with hard
lenses. GP lenses may be firm, but they are not the uncomfortable hard lenses of
the past, which didn't allow much oxygen to reach the eye. Hard lenses are obsolete
nowadays.
GP contact lenses are custom made for each
individual. Your eyecare practitioner will measure the exact shape of your cornea and prescribe lenses with the curvature, size, and
corrective power that suit your particular eyes.
In contrast, soft contact lenses are made from a gel-like
plastic that contains as much as 79% water. They offer better initial comfort,
but are prone to deposit problems, harder to keep clean, more difficult to handle, and
don't last as long as GP contacts. Plus, deposit problems with soft lenses
can lead to discomfort in the long term.
To learn more about GP contacts and soft lenses, read
on:
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Crisp vision
