Coated Lens

Astigmatism Questions Answered For Folks Wanting Contact Lenses

Myths have developed around the subject of toric contact lenses. For a number of years, people with astigmatism were under the impression they were condemned to wearing awkward old Rigid Gas Permeable contacts – which are less comfortable than other lenses available. The good news is that there are a greater variety of current soft toric lenses, all more than capable of addressing your astigmatism problems. The key is getting the accurate info and, if essential, contesting your existing prescription to the more contemporary disposable daily or monthly contact lenses.

What is astigmatism?

In normal eyesight correction practice, the patient has round contact lenses which simply rectify either for hyperopia or short sightedness, for the whole eye. In the case of astigmatism, the patient has different corrections required for different parts of the eye. This results in the need for a toric contact lens, which is divided up and refracts in a different way in dissimilar meridians.

An uneven curving of the cornea is what causes astigmatism – the clear transparent coating covering the front of the eye. Often (up to 1 in 3 of us have some degree of astigmatism) one half of the eye is not as curved as the other. This results in light not bending correctly as it passes through the eye, resulting in an defective image – blurring. This misshapenness means the eye is literally not not sphere-shaped but more oblong. That’s why people use the rugby vs basketball ball type equivalence.

It is key to know the degree of severity. For most folks with very mild degrees of astigmatism don’t in fact require toric lenses at all. Standard round-shaped lenses could be suitable so check you aren’t stuck in less suitable contact lenses and challenge your optician to try a different choice.

What lenses are available for people with astigmatism?

While RGP toric contact lenses were the only answer once, there is now a wide choice available including:

· Daily toric contacts, providing the convenience and ease of use of daily lens wear. Wear them once and trash them – genuine disposable lenses. These include Soflens Daily Toric, Acuvue 1 Day Moist for Astigmatism and Focus Dailies Toric.

· Monthly contacts for astigmatism, presenting best quality clear sight at value for money prices. Generally speaking, these have the largest selection of prescriptions and include the outliers unavailable in some daily contacts for people with astigmatism. These include Air Optix Aqua for astigmatism and Proclear Compatibles Toric

· Extended wear toric lenses – using the latest silicone hydrogel technology, these allow extended use for up to four weeks e.g. Purevision toric (although you should not do this without first consulting your eye care specialist).

If you have been lumbered with the same lenses for your astigmatism for some time, don’t keep with the same ones. Get yourself to your optician and see if you can change your prescription?

Get Lenses is the largest independent web contacts business in the British Isles retailing reduced contacts with fast delivery times.  Look at their site to appreciate the mighty choice of contact lenses supplies and cleaning solutions.