Astigmatism contact lenses are called toric contact lenses. They corrrect astigmatism and either hyperopia( far 

sightedness) or myopia (nearsightedness). 

Toric contactlenses are a combination of a spherical lens with a cylindrical lens to correct astigmatism. 

Astigmatism is when the cornea has an irregular curvature.

In the past it was always difficult to find contact lenses for people with astigmatism. Nowadays nearly all 

companies sell contact lenses for astigmatism. People who were sent away in the past are now enjoying the comfort 

of toric contact lenses.

In cases where Astigmatism is found in only one eye, the eye doctor may prescribe a toric lens for that eye and a 

regular spherical lens for the other eye.

Toric lenses come as soft or rigid gas permeable contact lenses. They are slightly weighted so that they do not 

rotate so much on the eye. This helps keep the contact lenses in the same oriention of the astigmatism and also 

avoids blurriness. 

Some lenses are constructed with a ballast at both top and bottom allowing the lens to always rotate into its 

correct position.

Because fitting astigmatism contact lenses takes more expertise and time than normal contact lenses, they are 

usually more expensive. 

In the past only hard lenses (rigid gas permeable) lenses could correct astigmatism.

Nowadays, most people go for soft toric contact lenses that do the job pretty well. Although there are cases where 

only rigid gas permeable lenses help.

Even for people who normally wear bifocals and multifocals. There are multifocal toric lenses available to 

accomodate astigmatism, seeing well in the distance and reading at near.

Bi-toric lenses are also available for extremely high astigmatic prescriptions. Theses are lenses that have 

corrections on the front and back of the lens enabling the correction of much higher prescription powers. The 

disposable types are available for low to moderate astigmatism. For high astigmatism custom made toric lenses are 

the option to go for.

Technorati Tags: By Dr. Ken Onu