The contact lens industry is always doing research on new and innovative lenses and Rigid Gas Permeable (or RGP) lenses are on the cutting edge. These lenses are the most advanced and a far cry from the hard contact lenses for years ago.

The “hard ones” consist of a material dubbed as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) that was regarded as an indispensable substance priorn to 1971, the year when the regular soft ocular aid was introduced. The problem with PMMA was that it was very complicated to utilize as it did not permit any oxygen badly required to enter the eyes unlike the gas permeable contact lenses.

Soft contact lenses came out in the 1970s and were a great relief to many hard contact lens wearers. These early lenses were for daily wear only and still did not let a lot of oxygen into the eye. In the 80?s, gas permeable lenses were invented which gave the eye more breathing room.

It can never be denied that the regular soft is more famous than gas permeable contact lens. The reason is that this ocular aid is not that easy to wear so there is a call to adapt in a longer period. However, this kind of tint has several benefits such as the stiff component it is constructed of. Even when you do countless eye movements, it will still retain its contour due to its facet of crispiness.

Another advantage of RGP contact lenses is that they are resistant to protein buildup. Anyone who has worn contacts knows how the protein deposits can make the lenses uncomfortable so this is a boon. This also makes them more durable than regular soft lenses. Although you can?t really see the protein buildup when you look at the lens, it does make a difference to your clarity when you look through the lens so the RGP lenses may even help you see better!

For those people who obtain unsatisfactory results in wearing tints of the regular soft kind, they usually shift to an ocular aid which is porous to oxygen. This is especially true to individuals who are suffering from astigmatism where they do not achieve their desired sight sharpness. As for those who have presbyopia, they choose between designs of bifocal and multifocal which have been proven to work effectively.