As a reminder, patients who have astigmatism can wear contact lenses too. I know, it is hard to believe, but they can. I still have patients showing up who tell me that they have been told that they cannot wear contact lenses because they have astigmatism. When I share that there are great options, they seem to argue with me in an effort to convince me that they have resigned themselves to the idea. Well, they might have, but I haven’t.
Every major contact lens manufacturer has a toric lens in its flagship frequent replacement lenses as well as in its daily disposable lenses. Patients who have astigmatism greater than 3.0D are still in luck as well. There exist monthly replacement lenses that come in high cylinders and around-the-clock axes. There also are custom-made lenses that can be manufactured and delivered in a few days; I often observe that my custom lenses arrive faster than my high-cylinder monthly replacement lenses do.
Too much instability? Well, there are options for that. Lenses can be custom made in a variety of base curves and diameters to bring about stability.
Still not happy? Let’s go GP. Scleral and corneal lenses alike bring about a crispness of vision to even the most complex astigmats.
In case you forgot or recently refused lenses to an astigmatic patient, your reasons have shrunk to nearly nothing. Fit the astigmats, they will thank you.
READ more of my article here at Contact Lens Spectrum
