I have a mild/moderate astigmatism (-1.25x150 in one eye, -1.25x050 in the other) and have successfully worn contacts for the past several years.

At the age of 16, I started wearing contacts. I was initially told that I would require gas permeable lenses, an option that was not only much more expensive, but would have also meant a lot more care on my part. After explaining my desire for disposable contacts, my eye doctor agreed to give regular spherical lenses a shot. They worked, and continued to do so for five years or so. Every eye exam I had, I was told the same thing, "You can't wear those contacts. You have an astigmatism." I would plead until the doctor would finally give in and put them in my eyes to do a quick exam. It worked every time.

Until now. About 2 years ago, I decided to go back to contacts after a 4 year hiatus. I had stopped wearing them and started wearing glasses due to work conditions, not eye issues. In the past few years, it appears that they have come a very long way with contacts for astigmatism. There are now toric lenses that are disposable from 2 weeks of daily wear, to 30 days and nights of continuous wear. I was prescribed the Vertex Toric lenses by Cooper Vision. I had good luck with these for close to a year.

One day I woke to find that my eyes were very red. I thought I had pink eye. I made a trip to my eye doctor and was told that I had dry eye. This chronic condition would mean discomfort on some level for the rest of my life, and may even mean that I would no longer be a good candidate for contacts. However, my eye doctor had recently been to some seminar specifically on this topic. After about 2 or 3 weeks of staying away from contacts and a prescription for steroid eye drops, as well as regular drops of the over-the-counter formula Systane, my eyes were healthy again. Ready to go another round!

We first tried Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism. Although these lenses reduced protein buildup, they were a bit uncomfortable. I then tried Bausch & Lomb PureVision Toric lenses. Although I had more protein buildup with these than with the Acuvue, they were super comfortable. They're made for 30 days and nights of continuous wear, which, of course, I do not adhere to. I take them out every night, and along with Clear Care contact solution, I have successfully worn these lenses for over a year, now. I have not had any recurrence of the dreaded "red eye", and very rarely do my eyes feel sticky and dry by the end of the day. I am very pleased.

All in all, no matter your eye condition, there is most likely something out there to suit your needs. All that is needed is a patient and willing doctor, and a cooperation between both the doctor and patient. Good Luck!

Learn more about this author, Bella Grant.
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