Soft vs RGP?

[elvishthistle]

I always found my soft lenses (acuvue advanced) really comfortable but with dry eyes and eye infections my eye Dr. decided that I shouldn't wear them anymore. I have an appointment for an RGP fitting. I tried going into these once before I sorted out my dry eye but they never worked for me. I couldn't keep my eyes open fully with them in. Has anyone had a success with these after switching from soft lenses? I know that RGP's would be best for me with my bad astigmatism, but I'm a bit worried. I'm only 24 and I don't want to wear glasses all the time, as vain as that might be it puts a damper on my lifestyle. Does anyone have any advice or success stories?

Eta: I've heard that RGP lenses can damage your cornea? Is this true?

[gz9gjg]

Hello elvishthistle,

RGP lenses are actually better for eye health than soft lenses, because they allow more oxygen to get to the corneal surface.

I think what you heard was in regard to hard lenses, which are a much older technology.

I have been wearing cutom-fitted WAVE RGPs since 2002, to help correct HOAs and other problems caused by LASIK. I find my RGPs very comfortable and I think they are actually better for dry eye than soft lenses. RGPs hold a tear pool against the cornea, but have no water content in the lens itself. Soft lenses do have water content, and have a tendency to dry out, cling too tight to the eye, and change shape, thus changing correction.

Good luck,

Lynne
Phoenix, AZ

[elvishthistle]

Thank you very much for your reply gz9gjg! I am glad to hear positive things about RGP lenses. I didn't know that RGP's hold a tear pool against the cornea, that is good to know and probably a big reason why my Dr. wants me to get into them. I suspect my previous experience was negative because of my dry eyes and practically no tears. Thanks again for the information, it definitely makes me feel better!