Gas Permeable vs. Soft Contact Lenses: Which is Right for You?

Contact lenses are available in different kinds of materials. Soft lenses are the most common kind of contacts, but lenses also come in a rigid form called "gas permeable" contacts.

Significance

• Approximately 85 percent of contact lens wearers use soft lenses, according to the University of Illinois Department of Ophthalmology.

Material

• Soft lenses are made from a gel-like, hydrophilic plastics that absorb water and are more comfortable. Gas permeable contacts are made from a rigid, waterless plastic.

Function

• Soft lenses are the lens of choice because of comfort if your vision correction is simply for just near or far. If you have astigmatic correction, soft toric lenses work, but gas permeable rigid lenses usually provide the sharpest vision for correcting astigmatism.

Cleaning

• Soft lenses and gas permeable lenses are cleaned in a similar way but with different kinds of chemicals. Both usually require a daily cleaning and a rinsing and storing solution. Sometimes a weekly cleaner is used also. Gas permeable lenses can be polished at your doctor's office to remove excess build-up--soft lenses cannot.

Durabilitiy

• Soft lenses can tear or rip. Gas permeable lenses are more durable but can chip or crack if mishandled.

Cost

• Basic soft lenses are the most economical. Gas permeable lenses and soft toric or specialty lenses are more expensive but comparable in price.