Toric Contact Lenses

by: RayLam
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For years, patients suffering from astigmatism were told they could not correct their vision by wearing contact lenses. That all changed in 1978 when the first toric contact lens was approved for distribution. By the late nineties astigmatic patients were able to finally wear disposable lenses and in 2002 CIBA Vision introduced Focus Dailies Toric, the worlds first daily disposable toric contact lens.

Toric lenses are manufactured with curvatures at different angles, one for astigmatism and the other nearsightedness or farsightedness.� In order to provide crisp vision, it is not acceptable for a toric lens to rotate on your eye so the lenses are made with a mechanism that keeps the lens stable.

A Toric contact lens is different from regular soft contacts. First the contact lens is weighted so it will sit on your eye properly and keep the correction in place. With normal soft contact lenses you can put the lens in any way as long as it is not inside out and be comfortable. With Toric contact lenses the weight will position the contact on your eye and may cause discomfort or blurry vision for a few seconds while your eye blinks the Toric contact lens in place.

The Toric contact lens has a small line on the lens near the identifying numbers to indicate the bottom of the lens. If you orient the lens properly you can avoid the uncomfortable feeling. The Toric contact lens is also heavier in weight so it can take up to a week or more to find comfort when you are first trying them.

Not everyone with an astigmatism needs toric lenses. If the astigmatism is mild - between 0 and 1.00 diopter - you may be able to wear a soft or RGP lens. RGP lenses might fare better as they are rigid and can use the tears in your eyes to work with the misshapen cornea. You might even be able to use a high prescription of regular soft contacts. Your eye doctor will know which you need and you may have to try a few before you find the perfect lens for you.

Nowadays, toric contact lenses come in almost any variety as soft lenses. You can get disposable, frequent replacement and even colored contacts to correct your astigmatism so why not toss out those old glasses and give contacts a try?

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