Gas permeable or rigid contact lenses
Contact lenses are often a great lifesaver for those who are tired from wearing glasses and suffer from vision problems.
There are two types of contact lenses:
- The soft contact lenses, very comfortable for the patient, which produce little discomfort in the eye due to the materials with which they are made.
- Gas permeable contact lenses, lenses that provide very clear vision and very good quality, and also allow the passage of oxygen to the cornea by the permeability in their materials. They are also called by hard or rigid patients.
You can read about a third type of glasses, and where to get them in Bogotá at SusMedicos (about halfway through the article).
When are gas permeable contact lenses used?
Gas permeable contact lenses are indicated for patients with myopia, hypermetropia and/or astigmatism. Also for patients with keratoconus and those who have had a corneal transplant. Also those patients who have undergone refractive surgery, not to use glasses again, but the result has been unsatisfactory, this type of lens works very well in these cases.
In the same way, they are recommended in patients who have been fitted with intrastromal rings and later, their vision has not been good, leaving the need to adapt contact lenses.
Gas permeable contact lenses are also indicated in those patients who only need correction in one eye, which can present hyperopia, myopia and/or high astigmatism, preventing the use of glasses due to the difference in formula that exists between one eye and another, thus allowing only one gas permeable contact lens to be adapted.
These lenses are made to the measure of each patient guaranteeing a very clear vision and eliminating any discomfort that may occur with other types of lenses.
Duration of gas permeable contact lenses
Once a complete optometry examination has been carried out, a test called Pentacam is performed, with which the curvature of the cornea is studied in detail, making it possible to identify and prescribe gas permeable contact lenses with the right size, curvature and correction for each person.
Then you can start the process of adapting contact lenses, teaching the handling, how to place and remove them, and specifying to the patient the necessary care to be maintained daily with their lenses in order to prolong their life and keep their eyes healthy.
Gas permeable contact lenses are lenses made of high quality materials, much more resistant than soft contact lenses. They have a much longer durability, as long as the patient follows the care recommendations indicated by the optometrist who specializes in adapting this type of lenses.
Once the contact lenses have been fitted, it is very important to carry out an annual check to see how the permeable gas contact lenses are and to check if there has been any variation in the formula.
Adaptation
It is important for patients to know that the process of adapting gas permeable contact lenses can take a little longer than that of soft contact lenses, because they bother more at first, while the eye gets used to the fact that the lens is not a foreign body and as the patient wears his lenses, this discomfort decreases.
In addition, the necessary controls must be made by the optometrist during the adaptation process.
The use of gas permeable contact lenses does not produce distortions when seeing the sides, due to the fact that the contact lenses move at the same time as the eyes; in addition, in the case of people who have a lot of graduation difference between one eye and another, the objects are perceived of the same size as the real one and there is no discomfort as those produced with the glasses.
Care
Correcting visual defects and achieving a vision that improves our quality of life depends on the care we can maintain with our daily gas permeable contact lenses.
This care is indicated by the optometrist before, during and after the fitting process. In other words, our eyes are in our hands, so we must maintain good hand hygiene and cleanliness when inserting and removing the lenses, as well as use cleaning solutions for contact lenses according to the indications of the optometrist.
On the other hand, keep the contact lens case always clean and change it at least every six months, in addition to changing the liquid in the case every night. It is also recommended to put the contact lenses before using makeup so as not to contaminate them and to be able to see well, and to finish remembering that it is not necessary to sleep with them at night, in order to allow the eyes to rest.
Wearing gas permeable contact lenses will significantly correct vision in cases of high refractive defects such as myopia and in those with keratoconus, among other problems which should be treated by an expert such as an optometrist for more than 25 years and who works with gas permeable contact lenses improving the eye health of the patient.