Archive for the ‘Astigmatism’ Category

I am trying to go back to wearing contacts but am having a lot of difficulty. I will admit my last pair of contacts was back in the late 80s early 90s. much has changed. my eye Dr had me try several different brands of ‘toric’ in soft disposable lenses. but for some reason I was having a rotation problem. (the little weight or whatever would not stay in place, and my vision was very fuzzy.) one brand that I could see in, just not see well, would get a ‘cloudy’ spot and I was trashing them in less than a week. we changed cleaning products and my Dr said I have ‘dry eyes’, and that was part of the problem. we are now trying rpg (hard) contacts. but he said they are ‘floating” a bit also, and I have a ‘halo’ when I blink, and occasionlly a teary view when I blink. I guess is from them not wanting to stay centered? I am still on my first adjustment week with the rgp kind, have appointment next week for Dr to look at them. is this really the vision I can get? I dont know anyone with rpg, everyone I know uses the disposables. I’m afraid I cant wear contacts now that they are so improved and my astigmatism has gotten worse. thank you for you time. and btw, nice info site you have, will be recommending it to others. Read the rest of this entry »

I am attempting to wear soft contact lenses again after several years. However, I am having some difficulties.  I have myopia, astigmatism, and large pupils.  The problem that I am having is with the Toric soft lenses. I have tried several different brands and I can see the edges of the Toric center when I am in normal lighting conditions. I was told this is because my pupils dilate larger than most people.  Regular soft lenses don’t give me the crisp vision that I prefer. I am hoping that you may know of a soft Toric lens that is made for people who have large pupils. I lenses that I can remember trying are the Acuvue Torics and the Biomedics Torics.  There were a couple of others, but I don’t remember what they were called.  I am leaning towards the soft lenses because I was told that the RGP lenses and even the hybrid lenses would cause the same issue.

Astigmatism, large pupils, and soft lenses definitely makes for a more challenging contact lens fit. There are two solutions I would say are worth evaluating for your case.

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If you want to stay with soft lenses, you are going to find that most any disposable soft lens, like the types you mentioned, will have about the same size optical zone.

It is possible to have custom made soft contact lenses where the optic zone can be larger. Labs like Unilens, alden, marrietta, and a bunch of others custom manufacture toric soft lenses. Your contact lens fitter may be able to get some made in a larger diameter, and in turn with a larger optic zone. That should improve centration and decrease distortion effect you notice from the edge of the optic zone.

My second resolution would be a gas permeable lens. Gas permeable lenses are all 100% custom manufactured and the specifications, including optic zone size, can be designed by your contact lens fitter.

I often fit gas permeable lenses on patients that experience glare caused after lasik surgery. Fitting post lasik corneas leaves us with the same situation, we require as large of an optic zone as we can get. In this case I always go towards a gas permeable lens. Depending on the type of astigmatism you have (if it is on the surface of the cornea or not) gas permeable lenses will also provide the clearest and most consistent vision.

The comment about the hybrid lens is absolutely correct. You will probably end up with the same issue, but that is not the case with regular gas permeable lenses. RGP lenses can be made in pretty much any design, size, specification, material, etc.. that a lens fitter can communicate with the manufacturing lab.

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Furthermore, when it comes to best vision, gas permeable contact lenses outperform soft lenses about 95% of the time.

So don’t despair, there is a solution to your lens issues. The only difference is that will probably not be disposable soft lenses.

I hope that helped to clear up some of your issues and good luck finding the right lens!

Steve

I just recently started back wearing contacts after about 5-6 yrs. I don’t have any problems putting them in… Its just that it feels like I’m looking at everything through a glass of water. I have pressed my finger over my eyelids to remove any air bubbles. I blink them to try and focus better. I’m not getting good results. What might be the problem? My vision is worse now than before. I work at a computer all day and this is not a win-win situation. Read the rest of this entry »

I was told I have astigmatism. But nobody ever explained what that means and everything I read is just really confusing. Can you explain it to me in plain English? Read the rest of this entry »

I have astigmatism and want to know the best lens. Say I was Bill Gates and I have astigmatism. Money is not an issue, I just want the best lens, which lens is the best for astigmatism? Read the rest of this entry »

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