Toric Contact Lenses

About 100 million Americans (one-third of the population) have an eye condition called astigmatism. Astigmatism means, “away from the point of focus.” That’s when the cornea is shaped more like an oval instead of being a round sphere—like a football instead of a basketball. Vision then becomes blurry; and regular contacts can’t provide for clear vision.

Astigmatism is often accompanied by either of two other optical conditions:

An inability to see objects close by (also called presbyopia or farsightedness when you need to read at arm’s length); or
Unable to see far away items (myopia or nearsightedness, as when your kid can read a book but have problems seeing the blackboard at school).

More complex corrective wear prescriptions are therefore needed. Although more expensive, it’s important to see an ophthalmologist specializing in this area. The procedure requires a few visits to get at “the perfect prescription,” and certainly worth the expense for good eye health.

Corrective vision for astigmatism is possible with either: eyeglasses, lasik surgery or contact lenses. For convenience and aesthetic reasons, and even though these lenses cost more (in addition to the ophthalmology fee), many people prefer toric contact lenses.

What are Toric Lenses?

Toric lenses are available as either soft contacts (such as Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism) or hard RGPs (“rigid gas permeable” lenses). Both are comfortable to wear; it all depends on personal preferences.
Torics are ideal in treating two different optical conditions (astigmatism and either presbyopia or myopia) with one lens—where blurry becomes instant precise vision upon putting them on, for both near and far objects.
They can be heavier on the bottom of the lens to anchor them to maintain visual sharpness as the eyeball rotates.
Torics are available as disposable contacts.
Torics are also available in different colors—blue, green, lilac?
Torics for convenient, continuous month-long wear are also on the market.

It all depends on a person’s predilection. After all, as Henry David Thoreau observed, “The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” And on a practical level, seeing cost savings in getting your toric lenses online at Contact Lenser —where quality and affordability come together—makes for a lot of good, common sense.