Astigmatism corrective toric contact lenses

Nowadays, toric contact lenses are available in many types, such as soft materials, disposable, frequent replacement, multifocal and colored types. Unlike regular myopia contact lenses or hyperopia contact lenses, toric lenses have the effect of a cylindrical lens on one or both of the optical surfaces. In most cases, it combines the effect of a spherical lens. They can correct both spherical and cylindrical aberrations. One of the major targets is astigmatism. Toric contact lenses are mainly for vision impaired patients who still suffer from astigmatism.

Toric contacts correct astigmatism and myopia or hyperopia

Toric contact lenses are similar to bifocals in terms of focal points that they have two different powers resulted from different curvatures. So that toric lenses can correct both astigmatism and myopia or hyperopia. The difference between toric lenses and spherical lenses lies in that they can not rotate on the eyes under blinking or looking around. All of us know that spherical eyeglass lenses and contact lenses are traditionally used to correct refractive errors including myopia and hyperopia, which explains why these two conditions are sometimes called spherical aberrations. But astigmatism is a cylindrical aberration. Traditional spherical lenses are incompetent.

In fact, current toric lenses that are capable of correcting both myopia and astigmatism have both spherical and cylindrical lens effects. Toric lenses can be soft or RGPs and require more time and skills to make proper fitting, so that their prices are unavoidably higher. Of course, if only one eye is astigmatic, getting one toric lens is enough.

Other types of astigmatism-correcting contact lenses

If you only have a mild astigmatism between zero and 1.00 diopter, toric lenses is not a necessity. The rigidity of common spherical RGP lenses offers a comfortable shape for your cornea and thus reduces the need for astigmatism correction. ECPs may also use high-power spherical soft lenses to achieve a same effect. Both of these two ways require some trials. A third type of lenses that reduces eye spherical aberration can also “correct” astigmatism without the help from toric lenses.

How to choose toric contact lenses

As mentioned before, toric lenses can be soft and RGPs. Most people neglect the shape-maintenance performance of RGP toric lenses and choose more comfortable soft lenses, even if RGPs provide a sharper vision. Among the wide options of toric colored lenses, multifocal toric lenses and branded toric lenses, your ECP is the judge who knows most clearly your eye condition. Customers always need to choose ECPs who offer customized fitting of toric lenses for personal vision welfare.

Disposable and non-disposable types

While toric colored lenses are provided in both disposable and non-disposable types, multifocal toric lenses are mostly non-disposable and in RGPs type. In addition, toric contact lenses are offered by many brands using silicone hydrogel, including monthly disposable type and quarterly replacement type.