Prescription for RGP lenses OK for soft lenses?

ScabbyLeg

Hi All,
I'm a long time wearer of rigid gas permeable lenses and need a replacement lense asap! I've ordered online and since there has been a problem with the order, it will apparently take 10-14 days more before I get the new set.

In the meantime I was going to try soft lens for the week or so to try them out. So I've two questions:

1. Can a prescription for RGP lenses be used for soft lenses?

2. Assuming it can, I haven't found a soft lense which matches the base curve of my RGPs, which is 7.50. Standard for soft lenses seems to be around 8.60 or so, certainly not less than 8.00. Does this mean soft lenses are a no-go for me, unless I get them specially made?

Thanks for any feedback!

Foggles

The prescription will be similar but not the same as RGPs correct for astigmatism and soft lenses don't automatically. The fitting sizes are also different, the base curves are flatter and the total diameters are larger for soft lenses. The handing is also quite different.
So, in brief, you will need to be fitted to get a healthy fit for soft lenses.

ScabbyLeg

Had an interesting experience with soft lenses in the end that I thought I'd share... maybe it might be of interest to someone else

In the end, waiting for my RPG lenses to arrive, I ordered daily soft lenses with a BC of 8.5. After getting to grips with the soft form of them* I found that my vision wasn't very sharp.. some double edges etc. and dry feeling and hard to read up close with them. Went out for a walk to let them settle in and once I got into the outside air they were much better! In particular for long distance vision - perfect, clear, sharp sight. But still every now and again my vision would get foggy and deteriorate, and annoyed I took them out and decided to wait for my new RGPs.

The reason I needed the new lenses asap in the first place was because I was going on a weeks snowboarding holiday- and when the new RGPs hadn't arrived in time I decided to bring the soft lenses with me and try them out again. And they were great! Not perfect - indoors and mainly in the evenings they would get dry every now and again (not to the extent as before)... but during the day, and out and about in the cold air they were absolutely perfect, comfortable and clear.

I haven't worn them since I've been back as I got the new RGPs... but I was surprised to find that they worked so well on holidays but yet at home they were less than ideal.

Oh well, that's my experience with soft lenses so far


*I'll never understand how 95% of the lense-wearing population happily wear soft lenses and deal with them sticking to your finger, not sticking to your eye, turning inside out, trying to read the feckin engraved print in order to see what way around they are, pinching them out of your eye..! I've had RGPs for 17 years and figured I would just throw them in and get on with it- well fair play to all you soft lense wearers who I can only assume are late for work every morning

cliffordrey

Foggles wrote: »

The prescription will be similar but not the same as RGPs correct for astigmatism and soft lenses don't automatically. The fitting sizes are also different, the base curves are flatter and the total diameters are larger for soft lenses. The handing is also quite different.
So, in brief, you will need to be fitted to get a healthy fit for soft lenses.

yes,your right.. it just depends on handling

We had thisPrescription lenses and Spectales..

lahinch_lass

ScabbyLeg wrote: »

{snip}

*I'll never understand how 95% of the lense-wearing population happily wear soft lenses and deal with them sticking to your finger, not sticking to your eye, turning inside out, trying to read the feckin engraved print in order to see what way around they are, pinching them out of your eye..! I've had RGPs for 17 years and figured I would just throw them in and get on with it- well fair play to all you soft lense wearers who I can only assume are late for work every morning

I tried RGP's back in my late teens... couldn't take them at all.. too sore on my eyes and too fiddly for cleaning etc.
Since I only *needed* contacts for sports I went for the daily disposable variety.. much simpler and even those my eyes were never particularly comfortable with either. the ONLY advantage I experienced with RGPs was the ease in removing them from my eyes, which in turn is a disadvantage for contact sports !

BTW the contact lens wearers that I have massive admiration for are the rugby players. I can't put in lenses without having clean hands, standing over/near a sink with a vertical mirror in front of me. they go fiddling about putting them back in in the middle of a pitch with a medic holding a teeny tiny hand mirror.