Choosing Contact Lenses: Factors to Consider | InVision Eye Care Specialists

Deciding between RGP contact lenses and soft contact lenses can be difficult: here are the key factors to consider.

Category: Contact Lenses

The ophthalmologists, optometrists and opticians at InVision Eye Care understand that knowing your vision prescription is only half the equation. Finding comfortable, functional eyewear that fits your lifestyle is just as important. Some patients find it difficult to decide between soft lenses made of flexible plastic and rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses made of silicone compounds. Here our doctors discuss some factors that may make the decision easier.

Are You Committed to Cleaning Your Lenses Every Day?

If you have long-term contact lenses, it is essential that you clean them regularly with contact solution to avoid harmful problems such as fungus buildup. While many people look at cleaning their contacts as a daily hygiene activity similar to showering or brushing their teeth, some decide that the ability to skip the cleaning and simply toss disposable lenses is too convenient to pass up.

How Perfect Do You Want Your Vision to Be?

There is no doubt that RGP lenses offer a higher quality of vision. While many people are fine sacrificing a modest amount of vision quality for the convenience of soft lenses, if you want peak clarity of eyesight, RGP will be the lenses for you.

How Often Do You Want to Wear Your Lenses?

Not everyone chooses to wear their contacts every day, let alone all day long. Some people put them in when they know they will need to see distant objects, or during social functions so they do not have to wear eyeglasses. For these people, soft lenses are the smarter choice.

Other people want to wear their lenses literally all the time, including to bed. Extended wear contact lenses are usually safe to fall asleep in, but you should first ask your doctor if your eyes are suited to wearing contacts overnight.

Is Cost a Consideration?

Although the price of RGP lenses is much more per lens, they last for so many uses that you are almost guaranteed to save money with RGP lenses instead of daily disposables over an extended period of time.

If you have questions about contact lenses, the knowledgeable team at InVision Eye Care is prepared to answer them. We provide our Ocean County and Monmouth County, New Jersey patients with the contact lenses that best fit their preferences and lifestyles. To make an appointment for new contacts at our Lakewood, NJ office, please call (732) 607-8515.