Comments on: I Have Astigmatism. If I Don’t Buy Toric Lenses (only The Regular Contact Lenses), What Could Happen?

By: Pedestal

Pedestal — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:50:55 +0000

No, it won’t damage your eyes, but your vision will be slightly worse than the best possible, and you may notice some degree of fatigue from the eyes.
As a *rough* guide, the blur from uncorrected astigmatism is about half that of the equivalent sphere. So leaving -0.50 of astigmatism off of the contacts is like wearing contacts one notch, -0.25, out-of date.
With 0.25 & 0.50 cyls this is commonly done.
Some people would miss 0.75, and most people with 1.00 would want it corrected, unless it happened to be just in the non-dominant eye, when the missing component might hardly be noticed with both eyes open.
at 1.25 DC and over, it’s rare to be able to get away with a purely spherical lens, except in odd circumstances.
In any case this should be discussed with the prescriber who issues your Rx, which you’ll need to get contacts. They will be able to demonstrate the difference between the full and “best sphere” corrections.

By: Footprin

Footprin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:50:55 +0000

It depends entirely on your prescription.
Small amounts of astigmatism, up to a 0.75 and sometimes even 1.00 can be compensated for by increasing the sphere power, so you still get good vision. It depends on how much spherical power you have also.
The worst that can happen if your astigmatism is strong enough that it should be corrected, but isn’t….is that you just won’t see very well , which kind of defeats the purpose of wearing contacts.

By: Lauri S

Lauri S — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:50:55 +0000

It really depends on how much astigmatism you have. Many people who have just a quarter diopter (+- .25) seem to get along just fine without toric lenses. However, I would recommend discussing it with your optometrist or opthamologist.

By: Spectacl

Spectacl — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:50:55 +0000

What could happen. At the most you won’t see well becuase it is not your prescription. Ask your doctor, but don’t try to do it yourself online, that is just plain silly.