Astigmatism plagues millions with blurred vision.

Astigmatism is caused by the irregular shape of an eye cornea or lens. This irregularity can create a cornea that is oblong like a football rather than the normal spherical baseball shape. Stigmatism, as many people know it, can be caused by several factors, but most often, it is an inherited trait. Whether the problem is caused by an irregularly shaped cornea or lens, it can usually be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lens, or refractive surgery. If using contacts, the important thing to remember is to purchase toric lens.

Many people believe astygmatism cannot be corrected with lenses. Years ago, that may have been true, but today it isn't. To understand why this is not longer true, you need to understand how the toric lenses work. Torics have a special correction built into them. While lens free-float in your eye, the built-in correction acts as a counterweight, causing the lens to naturally move back into the optimal position to correct your blurred vision. The toric lens principle is based on something called diffraction.

Torics work best for mild cases of stigmatism. They are made of the same materials as a regular lens. This means you can get them as disposable, multifocal, and with color variations.

To properly fit torics takes more of the optometrist's time and requires a great deal of expertise. Consequently, not only can you expect to pay more for the torics themselves but also for the fitting.

Toric contact lenses have come a long way over the years and combined with a proper diagnosis can go a long way to correcting blurred vision resulting from astigmatism.