How Do We Treat Astigmatism?

Astigmatism is an optical or focusing problem caused when one or more parts of the eye are shaped like a football instead of a basketball. This causes a situation where TWO points of focus are created inside the eye, and sometimes neither of those points is focused right on the retina (the part of the eye that "sees"). This makes your vision blurry.

We can correct astigmatism in several different ways. Let's introduce them today. Of course, the easiest way to correct astigmatism is to wear a pair of glasses. Your prescription will not only correct for SPHERE (nearsightedness or farsightedness), but also for CYLINDER (your astigmatism). For all but the most extreme cases of astigmatism a pair of glasses might be all you need.

There are two types on contact lenes that will correct your astigmatism, both soft (toric) and hard (gas permeable). Soft Toric contact lenses from companies like Bausch & Lomb and Acuvue are much better now than in years past, giving good vision and lots of comfort. Many people still see better with glasses but strongly prefer their contacts because of the freedom they have with the contacts.

We can also treat your astigmatism with Laser Vision Corrections like LASIK where we literally put the correction right on the surface of your eye. There are also new implants called Toric IOL's that can correct astigmatism if you have cataracts. We'll talk about these two things in detail another time.

So if you live in the Cleveland area and you have ASTIGMATISM, call Skyvision Centers in Westlake so that you can see how you can See What's Next(R)!!

Toric Soft Contact Lenses

Once upon a time, if you had any astigmatism at all you couldn't wear soft contact lenses. That's why Dr. White wore gas permeable rigid contact lenses before he had LASIK surgery. The early versions of soft contact lenses for astigmatism, called "TORIC"  soft lenses, were definitely better than nothing, but they suffered from poor stability on the eye and poor comfort.

There have been many very cool advances in contact lens technology, but one of the coolest has to be the new toric soft contact lenses for astigmatism. One of Dr. Kaye's favorites is the Air Optix Aqua Toric. It has a range of powers up to 2.25 of astigmatism, a pretty high amount. Dr. Kaye is also impressed by how well it fits and how stable it remains on the eye.

As you know, the doctors at Skyvision Centers are the leading experts in Dry Eye in Cleveland. All contact lenses can make your Dry Eye worse, but the Air Optix is made from a material that is particularly helpful for patients with Dry Eye.

Do you have astigmatism? Tired of wearing your glasses because your contacts don't work as well? Call us at Skyvision Centers and chat with Dr. Kaye about giving the Air Optix Aqua Toric a try!