The Principles and Practice of Correcting Astigmatism with soft Contact Lenses*

The principles of correcting astigmatism with soft contact lenses have been discussed and the clinical performance of four different toric soft lens designs reported. Front surface toric lenses performed better than back surface toric lenses. Some of the more obvious problems to be avoided are tight fittings, unnecessarily thick lenses, truncations that are too remote from the lids and lenses that are too small. The effects of differential lens flexure in two meridians were found to cause significant errors if ignored. Toric soft lenses are considered now to be a successful, established clinical entity and it is thought that they will be prescribed with increasing frequency. The role and value of a trial set was also discussed.