Several years ago those inflicted with astigmatism had to rely on eye glasses for their vision correction. Today that limitation is merely a memory of the past thanks to several advancements in contact lens technology. Since astigmatism is the result of an irregular shaped lens or cornea, a contact lens must designed to fit the atypical shape of the eye closely and comfortably in order to provide clear, crisp vision.
A contact lens that is designed to fit an irregular shape and correct astigmatism is called a toric lens. The unique curvature of eyes with astigmatism require that contacts meet the wearer’s specific vision correction needs since a slight variation can result in an ill-fitting lens. The difference between a toric lens and a spherical one is that the toric has two different powers – one power corrects the astigmatism while the other corrects the nearsightedness or farsightedness. While toric lenses are very similar to spherical contacts the addition of the second power makes their design more complex.
Because of their complex design, new features, materials and other developments in contact lens technology are usually applied to torics after they have been applied to spherical lens for a given period of time. When disposable lenses were initially introduced to the market, those with astigmatism had to wait in line while the technology was applied to torics. The same thing happened when colored contacts first became popular amongst contact lens wearers.
Currently patients seeking to correct astigmatism have as a wide selection of contact lenses to choose from for their vision correction needs as those who wear spherical lenses. Toric lenses can be made from the same materials used to make spherical lenses that correct nearsightedness or farsightedness; they just have a different shape or curvature.
Contacts to correct astigmatism are available in soft, rigid gas permeable or silicone hydrogel lenses. Today toric lens wearers can choose between disposable or frequent replacement, colored or non-colored lenses and even bifocals or multifocals.