Astigmatism – a common condition for many people in the Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley area where the eye isn’t perfectly round, but shaped more like a football, or an egg. If you have this condition then you will need a specifically designed contact lenses called “toric” lense for clear vision.
Toric contact lenses are available in both soft and rigid gas permeable (RGP or GP) lens materials. Most contact lens wearers in the Northern Colorado area who need toric contacts choose soft toric lenses.
How do toric lenses work?
For those of you in Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley who have astigmatism, various areas of your eye need varying amounts of correction for nearsightedness or farsightedness. Just like a pie is divided into pieces so there are different areas of your eye that require their own measurement of correction.
There are many bands and choices available to you for toric lenses. So if Brand A doesn’t fit well or rotates too much, Brand B may be better fit and choice. If soft toric lenses don’t correct your astigmatism in the way we are looking for, gas permeable lenses often times will.
Toric contact lens cost
Fitting a toric contact lens properly will take additional time and does require more finesse than fitting regular soft contacts. Multiple office visits are required, and sometimes several different lenses must be tried before you will find the right fit and correction. Our professional fee for fitting toric lenses is a bit higher than our fee for a regular contact lens fitting. The contact lenses themselves also have a higher cost when compared to regular soft lenses. Please call our office for details at 970-204-4020.
Save money and time with Gas Permeable lenses for astigmatism
If you have a mild to moderate amount of astigmatism, gas permeable contact lenses may be a better choice for you. GP lenses usually provide sharper vision than soft toric lenses. Gas permeable lenses are rigid and maintain their shape on the eye so a toric lense is not needed saving you time and money! The astigmatism due to unequal curves on the front surface of your eye is corrected by a layer of tears that forms between your eye and the spherical back surface of the GP lens.
If regular gas permeable lenses are not able to correct the astigmatism as desired, customized toric GP lens designs are available.
Many options in soft toric lenses
There are many brands of soft toric lenses available to you and you will have a choice of lenses approved for daily wear (lenses you remove before sleep) and extended wear (lenses approved for overnight wear). There are also soft toric lenses to enhance or change your eye color and multifocal toric lenses if you have presbyopia.
Call for more information
Call our office today at 970-204-4020 to learn more about contact lens options for astigmatism and to schedule a contact lens consultation to find out which lenses are the best solution for you. Or click on the link on the side of this page to contact our office. We proudly serve Northern Colorado: Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley area.
