What Are Medical Lens Contacts?
Medical Contact Lenses can be designed in three different categories:
Soft Lenses
Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) or “Hard” Lenses
Hybrid Lenses
Soft contact lenses are made of extremely flexible water-absorbing materials that give them a gel-like feel. Roughly 50% of the weight of a soft lens is due to the water it contains, making them extremely comfortable and super easy to wear.
Rigid Gas-Permeable Lenses are made of slightly flexible plastics that allow oxygen to pass through to the eyes. They are designed and shaped to custom fit the shape of each individual eye, as well as provide the ideal optical surface for visual clarity.
Corneal RGPs are designed to rest on the clear front of the eye, or cornea. Scleral Lenses are larger-diameter RGP lenses that rise in the center to vault over the cornea, while the outer edges of the lens rest on the sclera, or white part of the eye
Hybrid lenses are a cross between corneal RGP lenses and soft lenses. Hybrid lenses feature a “hard” (rigid gas permeable) center surrounded by a soft ridge or skirt. Hybrid lenses are designed to combine both the visual clarity of hard lenses with the comfort and ease of care of soft lenses.