Contact lenses can be of several types

Soft Contact Lenses

These are the commonest variety of lenses in use. They are made of a material which is soft to feel and are therefore easy to wear. Main advantage of these lenses is that they are very easy to adapt to. Main disadvantage of these lenses is that they are very prone to infection,

So you need to take good care of them.

Soft Contact lenses can be sub-divided into following types-

Caring for Soft Contact Lenses

You need to take good care of these lenses.Everytime you put them on, you need to clean Them as advised by your doctor. You should also clean them properly after taking them out And should store them in clean solution everyday.

Disposable Contact Lenses?

Daily, weekly, monthly... however often you replace them, disposable and frequent replacement contact lenses are a healthy and time-saving option.

Toric Contact Lenses For Astigmatism

These are special type of soft contact lenses which have cylindrical power built in and are used to correct Astigmatism.

Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) Contact Lenses

Rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses, also known as GP, gas permeable, or oxygen permeable lenses, are today's most state-of-the-art "semi-soft" contact lenses. But they shouldn't be confused with the hard contact lenses of yesteryear.

Old-style hard contact lenses were made of a material known as PMMA. The problem with PMMA lenses is that they are difficult to get used to and somewhat uncomfortable to wear. In addition, PMMA does not allow oxygen to pass through it, and healthy eyes need plenty of oxygen.

What Makes RGPs Different ?

Rigid gas permeable lenses were introduced in the mid-1980s; they are actually a newer technology than soft lenses. RGPs incorporate silicone, which makes a more flexible plastic than PMMA. And silicone is oxygen permeable, so oxygen can pass through RGP lenses, resulting in greater comfort and better eye health. In fact, RGPs transmit more oxygen to the eye than do most soft contact lenses.

You'll Need to Adapt

So why doesn't everyone wear RGPs? Primarily because soft lenses are more instantly comfortable to wear, and RGPs require an adaptation period before they can be comfortable. Some other downsides of RGPs are discussed below.

The Benefits of RGPs

RGPs offer some outstanding benefits over soft lenses. For one, because an RGP is made of a stiff material, it retains its shape well when you blink, which tends to provide crisper vision than would a soft lens.

RGPs are extremely durable. Although you can break them (for instance, if you step on them), you can't tear them easily, like soft lenses. Because they're made of materials that don't contain water (as soft contact lenses do), protein and lipids from your tears do not bind to RGPs as readily as they do to soft lenses. With a little care, they may last for years, as long as you don't require a prescription change.

Niches Where RGPs Excel

RGPs are frequently the answer for people who don't obtain acceptable vision with soft lenses. This includes individuals who are very fussy about the quality of their vision, and some people with astigmatism for whom soft contacts don't produce the desired visual acuity.

RGPs are used to fit people who have a condition called keratoconus, where the cornea is cone-shaped and causes extreme visual distortion

The Downside of RGPs

Unlike soft lenses, to achieve maximum comfort with RGPs, you have to wear them every day. If you don't wear your soft lenses for a week, they'll still be comfortable when you put them on a week later. If you don't wear your RGPs for a week, you'll probably need some time to get comfortable again.

Also, some people experience "spectacle blur" with RGPs: when lenses are removed, vision is blurry, even while wearing glasses. This is a temporary phenomenon, but it can necessitate full-time RGP wear. This can make RGPs an all-or-nothing proposition, which some people will find inconvenient.

Finally, RGPs do require care. They're much easier to care for than traditional soft contact lenses. However, they require rubbing during the cleaning process; so you might consider them to be more work than disposable soft contacts used with a no-rub solution

Caring for Rigid Gas Permeableor RGP Contact Lenses

Use the care system that your eyecare practitioner recommends. Usually this will involve lightly rubbing a cleaning solution in the lens with your index finger, rinsing the lens and storing it in a contact lens case filled with a storing/conditioning solution. These steps ought to occur after you've thoroughly washed and dried your hands. Water is not a replacement for a store-bought care system recommended by your eyecare professional. Water can compromise your lenses, causing them to become uncomfortable.

It's also important to clean, rinse your contact lens case after each use. Some practitioners recommend using the storage solution, not water, for this process.

Not all solutions designed for soft lenses are also designed for RGPs. Do not switch solutions or use a product that was not recommended by your eyecare professional. You could damage your lenses and/or your eye health.