People who have astigmatism are advised by the opticians to wear toric contact lenses, as they are mainly designed to correct the refractive error caused by the irregularly shaped cornea. Most often, people without even visiting their eye doctor assume that they aren’t allowed to wear contact lenses because of their condition. With the advancement in medical science and technology, today, patients who have astigmatism can correct their condition by wearing contact lenses.
The following are the types of contact lenses that are prescribed to patients for correcting astigmatism.
1 Toric Contact Lenses
Toric contact lenses are specially designed soft contact lenses that are composed of either highly breathable silicone hydrogel or a conventional hydrogel material and can be used to correct astigmatism. However, based on the severity of the condition, some patients are prescribed toric contacts lenses that are composed of rigid gas permeable (GP). Contactlenses4us.com offers best-quality toric lenses for astigmatism.
Compared to spherical contact lenses, that correct only hyperopia or myopia, toric contacts vastly differ.
- Toric lenses are designed in such a way that they can automatically rotate to the proper orientation on the cornea. This enables the power meridians of the toric lens to align with the correct meridians of the eye for clear vision.
- Â Toric contact lenses have different powers in different meridians to correct the erratic amount of farsightedness or nearsightedness in varied meridians of the eye characterizing astigmatism.
As each eye having astigmatism is unique, you might need more than one pair of toric contacts to determine the best design and brand that provides the best visual acuity, comfort, and fit. Further, compared to your regular spherical contact lenses, wearing toric contact lenses require more expertise. Lastly, toric lenses are expensive than other types, and their replacement cost is even more. The difference in price is due to the technology used to craft these lenses.
2 Hybrid Contact Lenses
In some cases, eye doctors recommend patients suffering from astigmatism to wear hybrid contact lenses. The hybrid contact lenses for astigmatism are composed of rigid glass permeable lens material and silicone hydrogel material. The reason why hybrid contacts are most preferred is that they provide the best of both types of lenses; that is, the comfort of the toric soft lenses and the sharp vision of gas permeable lenses.
Compared to toric lenses for astigmatism, hybrid lenses have thinner edges, which make them less risky to dislodge. This is the reason why individuals who indulge in sports activities prefer hybrid lenses for astigmatism.
3 Gas Permeable Contact Lenses
Gas permeable contact lenses are also used for correcting astigmatism. These lenses have a uniform front surface that replaces the irregularly shaped cornea. GP lenses are typically prescribed for extreme cases or unusual types of astigmatism.
If you have astigmatism, you should immediately contact your eye doctor and get a prescription for a suitable contact lens.