Contact Lenses

Contact Lenses

For many people, contact lenses are the ideal alternative to spectacles. For sport, special occasions or everyday wear, they are a versatile solution. Contact lenses, like eyeglasses or refractive surgery, can correct your near-sightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.

Hard lenses

These are made from PMMA — also known as Plexiglas or Lucite. These lenses are virtually obsolete and rarely used.

Soft lenses

These are by far the most commonly used lenses. They are usually made of a hydrogel polymer and fit snugly onto the cornea, making them very comfortable to wear. Some soft lenses have silicone compounds added to allow oxygen permeability, thus permitting significantly increased wearing times.

There are three types of contact lens available:

Hard lenses

Soft lenses

Rigid Gas Permeable lenses (RGP)

Rigid Gas Permeable lenses (RGP)

These are smaller and are made from rigid, waterless plastics and are initially less comfortable to wear but are especially good for presbyopia and high astigmatism. For some people, they allow the sharpest vision, and their oxygen permeability allows them to be worn all day. This type of lens should typically last at least a year before replacement is needed. A well-known problem with RGP lenses is their tendency to temporarily change the shape of the cornea, so for those contemplating refractive surgery, the lenses may have to be left out for a couple of weeks for the cornea to recover.

From the introduction of soft lenses in 1971 until relatively recently, most lens brands have been made from “hydrogel” plastics. Recently, new silicone hydrogel contact lenses have been introduced. They have become the contact lenses of choice for many eye care practitioners, because they allow more oxygen to pass through the lens to the eye, and they are less prone to dehydration.

Patient Feedback

What a great result!

Not the most pleasant surgery experience I’ve ever been subjected to but wow! What a great result! 34 years with spectacles and now 20-20 vision and given up smoking to boot! Well worth it!

Roy A

Contact Lenses

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