Contact Lenses for Astigmatism - Why You Might Need Them

I am not going to give a detailed description of astigmatism and why contacts for astigmatism are essential for some people. Later on this page, I will just do a brief introductory piece on what astigmatism really is. But the point of this page is to make people aware that normal contact lenses need not always correct your vision.

Yes, your doctor might have prescribed them but what I have found is that most doctors will tell you getting contacts for astigmatism is not really necessary. For people like me suffering from astigmatism, normal lenses might be able to give you a somewhat mediocre vision.. not a precise, crystal clear one! You blink and your lenses seem to move around a bit, and your vision seems hazy. This is what I experienced and wherever I went, doctors gave me a prescription for normal contact lenses. Mind you, my vision was perfectly clear when I used spectacles and there was a time when I thought that I won't be able to get rid of my glasses. Felt so unfair!

I happened to read about contacts for astigmatism online and decided no matter what the doctor tells me ("your astigmatism is not severe, you'll be able to adjust with normal lenses") I'm going to be firm about getting them.

Now I enjoy a perfectly clear vision and I'm thankful for getting toric lenses.

So what is astigmatism? Astigmatism is an eye defect that causes blurred vision because of irregular shaping of the cornea. In astigmatism, the cornea is not the usual round shape but rather shaped more like a football or a doughnut.

Myth:

"Contacts for astigmatism can be uncomfortable": I never experienced any discomfort. In fact, I felt the usage quite hassle-free given that the lenses didn't keep moving around whenever I blinked. A slight issue I felt was dryness when I used it for more than 4-5 hours every day. To combat this, you can use eyedrops specifically meant for contact lens users.

Truth:

"Contacts for astigmatism are expensive": Now this is true! Doesn't come cheap, but if you are like me and you are willing to cough up that extra dough, go for it by all means.

Personally, I used to prefer Acuvue lenses. I used Acuvue's contacts for astigmatism for a long time and I found them really comfortable.

Now I have shifted to Bausch and Lomb's Soflens (Toric lenses) because they are more readily available at online marketplaces like Lenskart.