Contact Lenses for Astigmatism
Struggling to look your best while also having your vision at its best? The demand for contact lenses for astigmatism is rising. Luckily, For Eyes is here to help. But, before you start shopping for your ideal set of contacts, here are a few things you should know. At For Eyes, we’ve helped countless patients with a moderate amount of astigmatism find the right corrective lenses and you will be the next patient to start seeing clearly.
What Is Astigmatism?
A normal, healthy cornea, i.e. the clear dome that covers the iris and pupil of your eye, is smooth and curves equally in all directions, allowing light to focus properly onto the retina at the back of your eye. This is what allows you to see clearly.
When your cornea isn’t evenly curved, its irregular shape causes light to refract incorrectly, leading to blurry vision. A misshapen cornea is called corneal astigmatism. Astigmatism can also occur in the lens of your eye, which sits just behind your cornea. If you’re diagnosed with lenticular astigmatism, it means you have a misshapen lens.
No matter what type of astigmatism you have — corneal or lenticular — objects both near and far may appear blurry and distorted. Moderate or severe astigmatism may also cause eye strain, squinting, chronic headaches, and poor night vision.
Treatment Options for Astigmatism
Eyeglasses with a special cylindrical lens prescription that offsets astigmatism are one option. However, contacts for astigmatism are another alternative. In fact, some people with astigmatism do better with contact lenses than with eyeglasses. Contact lenses sit on the cornea and provide clear vision and an unobstructed, wider field of view than eyeglasses.
Standard spherical soft contact lenses aren’t effective for correcting astigmatism, but rigid gas-permeable contact lenses can be a viable option for people with astigmatism.
Rigid gas-permeable contact lenses maintain their regular shape whilst on the cornea, allowing them to counteract the cornea’s irregular shape and make vision sharper.
Soft toric contact lenses are often the best choice for contact lens wearers with astigmatism because they’re specifically designed to address this problem. The special shape of soft toric contact lenses creates different refractive or focusing, powers that can help correct either corneal or lenticular astigmatism.
Toric contacts have a stabilising zone that keeps them from rotating when they’re in your eyes. It helps the lenses orient the same way every time, so the wearer has clear sharp vision.
Can I wear contacts if I have astigmatism?
If you would like more advice or are concerned about astigmatism, our optometrists can help. We offer advice and will use our expertise to access a wide range of contact lenses that are appropriate to correct astigmatism.