gas permeable contact Lenses
A smaller percentage of patients wear gas permeable lenses these days. These lenses offer exceptional vision and comfort and are the right lens choice for many patients.
Confusion still exists about "hard" contact lenses. The original polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) material for rigid contact lenses was not permeable to oxygen. Very small lens sizes and movement of the lens during a blink allowed tears to carry oxygen under the lens.
The problems associated with hard lenses were averted when gas permeable materials allowed oxygen to pass directly through the lens to the cornea. So, "hard" contact lenses are no longer used.
Today’s gas permeable contact lenses are comfortable, durable and offer unsurpassed quality of vision. Gas permeable contact lenses are custom fit to your eye. These lenses must be fit and prescribed by a licensed eye doctor. The art and science of fitting gas permeable contact lenses is not lost among Loyola eye doctors.
When soft contact lenses are not appropriate, experienced Loyola contact lens specialists will give you the best in gas permeable materials and designs. What you might be looking for in gas permeable contact lenses includes:
- Lenses to correct all prescriptions for nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) or astigmatism
- Advanced toric lens designs to correct high astigmatism
- Continuous (extended) wear – some gas permeable lenses are approved for extended wear
- Gas permeable bifocal contact lenses to correct the inability to focus sharply on nearby objects (presbyopia) – many lens designs are available
- Monovision for the correction of presbyopia
- Absence of the natural lens of the eye (aphakia)