Why Can't I Get a Contact Lens to Correct My Small Astigmatism?
May 31st, 2010 | See the Top Answers to this Question Below
I got fitted for contact lenses about 6 months ago, but I find that my vision is constantly slightly blurry when I wear my contacts. (Also, every now and then my vision gets really blurry for about 30 seconds, but that is not really my problem). I get a lot of eyestrain and headaches, so having constantly blurry vision is not good for me. I am worried that I won’t be able to continue wearing contacts.
My eyeglasses prescription is
OD (RIGHT)………………….OS (LEFT)
SPH +1……………….. +1
CYL – 0.25……………….. – 0.5
AXI 125……………….. 60
ADD 0……………….. 0
PD…………… 58
My contact lens prescription is
OD (Right)………………..OS (Left)
SPH +.75……………….. +1
CYL nil……………….. – 0.75
AXI nil……………….. 70
BC 8.4……………….. 8.6
DIA 14.0……………….. 14.5
The astigmatism is worse in my left eye, and I am left eye dominant. My optometrist said that the astigmatism in my right eye is too small to be corrected by contact lenses (she said the ‘market’ for them was too small for companies to bother making contact lenses for that size). She tried to balance off the effects of my right eye astigmatism by distorting the ‘true’ contact lens prescription for my left eye.
The results of this are far from perfect. I cannot even wear my contact lenses because I get so much eyestrain and constant blurriness.
From what my optometrist said it sounds like all my contact lens problems would be solved if only my right eye was worst – if only the astigmatism was severe enough to be correctable with contact lenses. My glasses prescription is perfect for me, but not my contact lens prescription.
What other contact lens options do I have? I am using Acuvue Oasys lenses (Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism in my left eye only). I have heard that RPG lenses give better clarity of vision. Is that an option for me? Is it possible for me to buy contact lenses from other companies that are perfect for my right eye astigmatism?
From google-searching it sounds like I have an "oblique astigmatism" which means my astigmatism, although quite low, has a greater-than-normal effect on my vision. It also means that when I blink my contact lens shifts more than for most contact-wearers, and I get very blurry vision for several seconds.
Thanks so much for any advice 
More Contact Lens Websites:
- Can Lasik eye surgery correct astigmatism? | Laser Eye Surgery & Cosmetic Surgery News & Information – Treatment Saver Blog
- Contact Lenses – Need to Convert a Eyeglass Prescription to an Contact Lens Prescription?, Best Contact Lens
- Contact Lenses – if You Have Astigmatism, Do You Have to Have Special Contacts?, Best Contact Lens
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An astigmatism is the result of the shape of your eye, rather than a problem with the lens- which is why contacts don’t do much to help. A contact can reshape the front part of the eye, but it won’t change it the rest of the way around. Astigmatics tend to have rather egg shaped eyes, rather than the usual spherical shape. That difference changes how light focuses in the eye. Your eye would ordinarily compensate by using the muscles that control the lens, and allow you to force the focus for a while. That is, until they got tired- and that’s probably what’s really behind your eye strain. If you want to wear contacts, you would want to ask your optometrist if you could try a toric lens. Those do come in a soft form. Not all of the optometrists like to fit them, although it’s not any more difficult, it can be slightly more time consuming. But for low cylinder astigmatics, or really any astigmatic person, they can provide a better correction than the standard type lens. If your doctor won’t be bothered, find another who will do it. I will warn you though, they are about twice the price of your current contacts.