A contact lens is a thin lens placed directly on the surface of the eye.

People choose to wear contact lenses for aesthetics, cosmetics and functional reasons.
They provide better peripheral vision and don't collect moisture.
The first lenses were those made from polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA).
Their main disadvantage is they don't allow oxygen to pass though to the cornea, which can
cause serious clinical events.
From these materials they are called rigid-gas-permeable lenses or "RGPS".
A rigid lens is able to replace the natural shape of the cornea whith a new retracting surface.
So they can correct astigmatism or corneal irregularities, such as Keratoconus.
Soft ones are usually more comfortable after insertion, unlike rigid lenses.
In 1998, silicone hydrogels became available and these materials have both oxygen
permeability and the comfort.
One of the disadvantages is that the lens surface can be hydrophobic.