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Toric
Contact Lenses for Astigmatism By
Nancy Del Pizzo and Liz Segre; Have you been told
you can't wear soft contact lenses because you have astigmatism? Or were you told that
contact lenses for astigmatism — called "toric" contacts — didn't
come in disposable, frequent replacement, multifocal, or colored varieties? All that was once
true, but not today. Unless you have an especially complex prescription, your
astigmatism can probably be corrected with soft contacts, and you have many
options. |
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Toric Contact Lens Cost Properly fitting a
toric lens takes more of your eyecare practitioner's time and requires more
expertise than regular contacts. Consequently you can expect that a fitting
for torics will be more expensive than a regular contact lens fitting. The
lenses themselves also cost more than spherical lenses. If you have a small
amount of astigmatism, between zero and 1.00 diopter (either +1.00 or -1.00),
you may be able to wear a regular spherical RGP or even a spherical soft
lens. How can you see well
if there is no power for astigmatism? With RGPs, the lenses' rigidity can
help mask a need for an astigmatic correction, because your cornea will to
some degree conform to the shape of the lens. With soft contact lenses, some
eye care professionals choose to fit you with a higher powered spherical soft
lens to mask a small astigmatic correction. The results of this technique
vary from one patient to the next, which is why the fitting process may take
some trial and error by both the doctor and the patient. Also, some lenses are
available that may reduce the spherical aberration of your eye (that exists
along with the myopia or hyperopia, and astigmatism). This type of lens may
help some people who have astigmatism to see better without the necessity of
a toric lens.
A small percentage of
patients will find that they prefer RGPs over soft contacts. Because rigid
lenses retain their shape on the cornea better than soft lenses, they tend to
provide crisper vision to people who have astigmatism. This degree of
difference in crispness is not noticeable for most contact lens wearers, but
if you're particularly fussy about your vision, you may appreciate it. Color,
Disposable, and Multifocal Toric Choices Many brands of soft
toric lenses are available today, so your eyecare practitioner can choose the
brand with the best characteristics for your particular eyes. Torics are available
as frequent replacement, disposable and even daily disposable lenses. Toric
silicone hydrogel lenses for 30-day wear are also available. Torics are also
available in many colors that either change or enhance your natural eye
color. Some colors are available as disposables; but most colored torics are
non-disposable, conventional contact lenses. Multifocal torics
correct for presbyopia. These are generally non-disposable as well. There are
some soft toric multifocal brands, but often an RGP lens is prescribed in
this instance. |
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