People with astigmatism have to put on contact lenses which are particularly for his or her situation. If you may have astigmatism, you’ll need to be taught these particulars concerning the three sorts of contacts.

What is Astigmatism?

In folks with out astigmatism, the cornea of the attention is curved like a dome. This form permits it to focus gentle on the retina so that you simply see crisply and clearly.

But with astigmatism, the cornea is an irregular form. Rather than being rounded, the floor of the cornea is formed extra like an egg or soccer, so it could’t focus gentle evenly on the retina. The result’s imaginative and prescient that’s blurry or distorted.

Correcting Astigmatism with Contacts

The advantage of astigmatism is that it may be corrected with the correct prescription eyewear. Eyeglasses are one widespread possibility, however should you’re somebody who prefers contacts, then your eye physician will prescribe certainly one of three sorts of contact lenses for astigmatism: Gas permeable, toric, and hybrid.

Here we’ll take a look at the advantages of every.

Toric Contact Lenses

Toric contacts is usually a good selection as a result of these lenses are designed with a particular form that focuses the sunshine utilizing totally different refractive (or focusing) powers on the vertical and horizontal planes.

Regular contacts have a spherical floor, like a slice of a seashore ball. Toric lenses, alternatively, are formed like a slice of the aspect of a donut. The title comes from the phrase “torus,” which is a geometrical form that appears like a donut.

What to contemplate:

Fit is extraordinarily vital for toric lenses. Because they’ve a particular orientation (horizontal and vertical), they have to be positioned in your eye in a sure means. Toric lenses have a center axis, very similar to the equator, in order that your line of imaginative and prescient stays clear. If you may have ill-fitting lenses, you gained’t obtain the visible readability you want.

You can get toric lenses in a every day model or different disposable choices, and your physician will provide help to select between gentle contact lenses or inflexible fuel permeable lenses. While gentle torics will be extra snug, some folks expertise that they don’t keep in place fairly in addition to RGP lenses. You might have extra time to regulate to RGP lenses, and they are often drier and extra delicate.

Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) Contact Lenses

Oftentimes, these lenses can right astigmatism even with out the toric form. That’s as a result of inflexible fuel permeable lenses retain their form when positioned on the attention, taking the place of the misshapen cornea to focus gentle appropriately on the retina. This is in contrast to gentle lenses, which conform to the corneal floor.

If you may have a better quantity of astigmatism, your eye physician might suggest RGP lenses with a toric design, however many individuals with astigmatism report a lot sharper imaginative and prescient with normal RGP lenses.

What to contemplate:

Because these contacts are inflexible and are additionally smaller in diameter than gentle contact lenses, they will take a while getting used to. Some folks really feel they will by no means get accustomed to the feeling of a inflexible contact on their eye.

Like torics, the becoming course of for RGP have to be exact. These lenses will be dearer than gentle contact lenses, and for some customers, they will come out once in a while (akin to when collaborating in sports activities).

Hybrid Contact Lenses

Hybrid contacts are an alternative choice that mixes the perfect of each torics and RGP lenses, beginning with their development. At the middle is a inflexible fuel permeable materials, and that’s surrounded by a “skirt” composed of both silicone hydrogel materials or gentle hydrogel.

What to contemplate:

They provide sharp visible acuity, like RGP contacts, however consolation that’s similar to gentle toric lenses. They even have thinner edges than RGP lenses, so they might be much less more likely to come out throughout sure actions.

The match of those lenses should even be spot on, and similar to RGP lenses, they are often dearer.

Finding the correct contact lenses is essential to eye well being, however how will you know which of them are best for you? Schedule and eye examination. Our eye care professionals are expert at educating you concerning the various kinds of contacts, and making certain you obtain the proper match on your contact lenses.