The Benefits of RGP Contact Lenses

What Are Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) Contact Lenses?

RGP contact lenses are custom-made contacts crafted from breathable, oxygen-permeable materials. Unlike the “hard” lenses of decades past, today’s RGPs permit oxygen to pass through the lens material into the cornea, helping keep eyes comfortable and healthy. While soft contacts completely cover the cornea and even some of the sclera (the outer white part of the eye), RGP lenses only cover most of the cornea. Today’s RGP lenses have certain advantages when compared with soft contact lenses, including sharper vision and better comfort. 

RGPs are smaller in diameter than most soft lenses and are designed to hold their precise shape on the eye. That stable shape delivers consistently sharp optics, resists tears and deposits, and can make RGPs a smart long-term investment for many wearers. RGPs are available in a range of designs, including options for astigmatism and presbyopia, and are fit individually to each eye at your appointment. 

How Do RGP Lenses Work?

RGP lenses create a smooth, stable optical surface over the eye. Because the lens keeps its shape as you blink, your tear film fills the tiny gap between the lens and the cornea, acting like a “liquid cushion” that masks surface irregularities. This combination (rigid optics + uniform tear layer) often produces crisper, higher-contrast vision than soft lenses, particularly for moderate to high astigmatism or irregular corneas like keratoconus.

Their smaller size also promotes healthy tear exchange with each blink, helping flush away debris. Most patients notice an adaptation period, but with proper fit, insertion/removal training, and a simple care routine, comfort typically improves quickly while the optics remain reliably sharp.

The Benefits of Oxygen Permeable Lenses

You may remember the old hard contacts from PMMA. Thankfully, RGP contact lenses have come a long way since then. They're rigid contacts, but much more comfortable. Because RGPs hold a precise shape and allow oxygen to pass through, they can deliver crisp, reliable vision and stay clear with proper care. Here are the key advantages of choosing RGP contact lenses:

1. Treating Keratoconus: Keratoconus causes the cornea to be dome-shaped, leading to vision problems. RGP contact lenses can flatten the cornea and restore normal vision. 

2. Best Choice for Astigmatism, Nearsightedness, and Farsightedness: RGP lenses can prove more effective than soft contacts for correcting myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism, and presbyopia (age-related vision changes). 

3. Custom-Made: RGP contact lenses are tailored to each eye. Your eye doctor measures your cornea before prescribing lenses with the size and correction that suits your specific needs. 

4. Daily Wear Not Required: While you have to wear your RGP lenses regularly to maintain them, you don’t have to wear them every day. Wearing them consistently helps improve your vision when you aren’t wearing them. 

5. Increased Comfort and Longevity: Because RGP lenses are less likely to accumulate proteins, most people find them more comfortable than other contacts. With proper care, they can also last a year or longer, saving you money in the long run. 

6. Best of Both Worlds: A hybrid contact lens is available that combines technology from RGP lenses and soft contacts. This is ideal for those who want the crisp vision of RGPs and the comfort or familiarity associated with soft contact lenses. 

7. Lower Overall Cost: Maintaining RGP lenses is actually less expensive than using and caring for soft contacts over a lifetime due to their longer service life and reliability. 

Special Use Cases for RGP Lenses

Beyond their direct benefits, RGP contact lenses may be prescribed to treat specific eye conditions while correcting your vision. 

Keratoconus and Irregular Corneas

When the cornea becomes cone-shaped or uneven, light scatters and standard soft lenses may not fully correct blur, ghosting, or glare. RGP lenses maintain a smooth, stable front surface over a thin tear layer, which helps mask those irregularities and sharpen vision. At Clarkson Eyecare, your fitting may include corneal topography to map the eye’s shape, followed by trial lenses to fine-tune comfort and clarity. For advanced cases or significant dryness, your doctor may recommend scleral lenses that gently vault over the cornea and rest on the white part of the eye for added stability and comfort. 

Moderate or High Astigmatism

Astigmatism occurs when the cornea or lens is shaped more like a football than a basketball, causing vision to fluctuate or smear. Because RGPs hold their form on the eye, they create a consistent optical surface that can deliver crisp, reliable vision throughout the day. During your visit, your provider will evaluate the axis and magnitude of astigmatism, select a starting design, and assess lens movement and centration to ensure stable optics with minimal awareness. 

Presbyopia and Multifocal Designs

If reading distances have become challenging, multifocal RGPs can provide both distance and near correction in one lens. These designs can be customized by Clarkson Eyecare to balance your most common tasks, such as computer work, driving, or reading. Expect a short adaptation period as your brain learns to select the correct focal zone, and plan on one or two follow-up visits to fine-tune power, position, and pupil-size considerations for the clearest binocular vision. 

Post-Surgical or Post-Injury Corneas

After procedures like corneal transplants, radial keratotomy, or when scarring is present from injury, the corneal surface may be irregular. RGPs often restore quality of vision by smoothing the optical interface; in some cases, sclerals provide even greater stability and comfort. Your Clarkson Eyecare doctor will coordinate lens design with your surgical history and current healing status, then monitor corneal health, tear exchange, and wearing time as part of a structured follow-up plan. 

Orthokeratology, Nighttime Wear Only

Orthokeratology, often called ortho-k, uses specially designed RGP lenses worn overnight to gently reshape the cornea for clear daytime vision without glasses or daytime contacts. It can also be considered part of a myopia management plan for children and teens. Candidates complete a thorough screening, including corneal mapping and tear evaluation, and receive detailed guidance on hygiene, lens handling, and follow-up. Success depends on consistent nightly wear and regular check-ins to verify safe, stable results. 

Occupational or Hobby-Specific Needs

Patients who demand high contrast and fine detail like designers, engineers, pilots, or night drivers often appreciate the optical precision of RGP lenses. Your Clarkson Eyecare provider will ask about lighting conditions, screen distance, and visual tasks to tailor the lens design. For dusty, windy, or dry environments, scleral lenses may be considered because their fluid reservoir can enhance comfort and protect the ocular surface, while still delivering RGP-like clarity.