Toric / Astigmatism Contact Lenses

Toric contact lenses have been specifically designed to correct an eye disorder called astigmatism, they do this by evening out the refractive anomalies caused by an imperfection to the curvature of the cornea or lens. They do this by bending and refocusing the light entering your eye to provide clear accurate vision. Most toric contact lenses do this using prism ballast technology, whereby the bottom of the contact lens is a little thicker and heavier enabling the lens to stay in place when blinking.

If you have been prescribed Toric contact lenses then you will have been diagnosed with astigmatism, but you are not alone, astigmatism is currently one of the most common eye disorders patients present to Optometrists.

Astigmatism is defined by a deviation in the curvature of the eye, a regular eye has the shape similar to a football, whereas an astigmatic eye has a shape similar to a rugby ball, this can cause(1) 

• Blurred Vision
• Headaches
• Squinting 
• Eye Strain

You will typically notice some of these warning signs of astigmatism in early life, but you may notice the onset at any age. Most people with astigmatism also have some other type of refractive error like short sightedness or long sightedness.

You will notice your Toric contact lens prescription looks a little different to a regular contact lens prescription this is because a toric contact lens requires additional measurements.All contact lenses prescriptions require the measurements for

• Sphere - Power of the lens and is preceded by a + or minus depending if you are long sighted or short sighted
• BC - Base curve of the lens
• Dia - Diameter of the lens

A prescription for astigmatism and Toric lenses will also include

1. Axis - Defines where on your cornea the astigmatism is located and is shown as a degree between 1 and 180 
2. Cyl - The amount of astigmatism - how flat or irregular your eye is

Your Toric prescription will look similar to this

Key Points

Helpful Guide To Toric Contact Lenses

Types Of Toric Contact Lenses

Toric contact lenses come in a wide range of fittings and can correct short sightedness and long sightedness, they are available as

• Regular Hydrogel Contact Lenses made from gel-like, water containing polymers, enabling the contact lenses to be extremely thin and malleable. See Dailies AquaComfort Plus
• Silicone Hydrogel Contact lenses - Loved by Optometrists, as the addition of silicone allows more oxygen to reach the cornea creating a safer, healthier contact lens (1). See Biofinity Toric

They are also available in different wearing modes

• Daily Disposable Contact Lenses
  Daily contact lenses are intended to be worn for a single day and then thrown out each evening, which makes these the easiest contact lenses to adjust to and the healthiest option for your eyes. 1 Day Acuvue Moist for astigmatism
• Two Weekly Disposable Contact Lenses
  Two weekly lenses are designed to be worn for up to 14 days. They require a routine of nightly removal and cleaning, before storing overnight and cleaned each morning before reinsertion. Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism
• Monthly Disposable Contact Lenses
  Monthly contact lenses are designed to be worn on a daily basis for up to one month, they require the user to remove them each evening, clean and store them in contact lens solution overnight, before rinsing them and inserting them each morning. Biomedics Toric
• Extended Wear Contact Lenses
  Also referred to as continuous wear contact lenses, have been designed to be worn continuously - that's even when you’re sleeping- from between 7 to 30 days, depending on the type of contact lens and the recommendation of your Optometrist. Biofinity Toric

Our Customers Top 5 Toric Contact Lenses

How Much Do Toric Contact Lenses Cost

Toric contact lenses are slightly more costly than regular contact lenses, this is because they are complex in design, plus the fitting of toric lenses requires more expertise and takes longer, so you may find that your Optometrist charges a little more for a Toric contact lens fitting than a regular contact lens fitting.
If you have an amount of astigmatism that needs correcting with contact lenses you will find this extra expense well worth it so that you can wear contact lenses.As a comparison you can see the difference in cost with this example
1 Day Acuvue Moist retails at £23.99 where as 1 Day Acuvue Moist for Astigmatism retails at £31.50 for 30 lenses assuming you need 2 boxes per month that works out at an extra £15.02 per month for Daily disposable toric lenses.

If you want to go for Monthly disposables then Biomedics Evolution retail at £20.00 per box of 6 and Biomedics Toric £44.75 for 6 lenses that’s a £49.50 difference over 6 months, so just £8.25 extra per month for Toric contact lenses.

Why Are Toric Contact Lenses Different To Regular Contact Lenses

Regular contact lenses have a spherical shape not unlike a football and allows the focal power to remain the same throughout the lens, meaning they do not need to be stabalised as you will see and focus just as well if the lens rotates slightly. Toric contact lenses are Torus shaped so more like a rugby ball and have different focal points in different areas, so to correct your astigmatism and allow you to focus clearly they need to remain in place, to enable this they are commonly weighted at the bottom in such a way as to prevent rotation.The fitting of Toric contact lenses can be more difficult than regular contact lenses, the Optometrist will often trial a few different brands to see which one offers the best fit and most comfort.

Getting The Best Out Of Your Toric Contact Lenses

Toric contact lenses do not require any special handling, so treat them as you would any other contact lens, make sure you wear them and care for them, as recommended by your Optometrist, so if you are wearing 

• Daily disposable contact lenses -you can simply throw the lenses out each evening and insert a fresh new pair each morning.
• Monthly or Two disposable contact lenses - need to be removed every night, cleaned with an approved contact lens solution and stored in a contact lens case with fresh solution using this procedure:

Morning

• Wash and thoroughly dry your hands before handling your contact lenses
• Remove your contact lens from it’s storage case, apply a few drops of your recommended solution on the front and back of the lens and rub gently with your index finger
• Insert your contact lens
• Empty your contact lens case of solution and let it air dry

Evening

• Wash and thoroughly dry your hands before handling your contact lenses
• Remove contact lens from your eye, apply a few drops of your recommended solution on the front and back of the lens and rub gently with your index finger
• Store the lens in your contact lens case and submerge with fresh solution

Dispose of two weekly contact lenses after 14 days and monthly contact lenses after 30 days

Extended wear contact lenses - remember to set a reminder to remove your lenses after 30 days, or less, if recommended by your Optometrist.

FAQ's

References

1 https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/condition/astigmatis...
2. Hydrogel vs Silicone Hydrogel Lense Author:Dr. Russel Lazarus
Published: November 4, 2021
https://www.optometrists.org/general-practice-opto...
3. BCLA https://bcla.org.uk/Public/Consumer/Astigmatism_an...

Author: John Dreyer Optometrist Bsc(Hons), MCOPTOM, DipCLP
John qualified from Aston University in 1980, he has authored for Contactlenses.co.uk over the last 20 years, bringing his expertise to visitors to the site and providing valuable optical advice to customer questions throughout the years. He has been featured by several leading publications including The Express and ITProPortal