Three New Contact Lenses for Astigmatism in 2017

UPDATE: This article should really be called 'Four New Contact Lenses for Astigmatism in 2017'. Since writing this article, Johnson & Johnson released Acuvue Vita for Astigmatism. Click the link to read my full review.

Are you looking for new contact lenses for astigmatism because you feel like you've tried them all and none of them perform as well as you'd like? Then this is an exciting time for you because we are seeing a whole slew of new contact lenses for astigmatism hit the market.

In the contact lens industry, it seems like new contact lenses are introduced in waves. A few years ago, we saw nothing but new daily disposable contact lenses. In the past couple of years, it has been the resurgence of monthly contact lenses. And now, we're finally getting a wave of new contact lenses for astigmatism.

The Challenges of Having Astigmatism

People with astigmatism are truly disadvantaged when it comes to everything vision, glasses, and contact lens related. Astigmatism makes our vision worse, it makes our glasses and contact lenses more expensive, it makes wearing contact lenses more difficult, and it drastically limits our choice of contact lens brands.

But that's just the way it is for us astigmats. The challenges we face have made us resilient and we are all stronger because of it (ok, maybe that's a little much).

The Old Contact Lenses for Astigmatism

Here I will list all the contact lenses for astigmatism that were available to us prior to 2017. A lot of these are very good brands, so if you haven't tried them yet, speak to your eye doctor about them — they may be worth a try.

Bi-Weekly Contact Lenses for Astigmatism

• Acuvue Advanced for Astigmatism (discontinued)
• Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism
• Biomedics toric
• Avaira Vitality toric (US only)
• Encore toric (Canada only)
• Vertex toric (US only)

Monthly Contact Lenses for Astigmatism

• Air Optix for Astigmatism
• Biofinity toric
• Biofinity toric XR
• Proclear toric
• Proclear toric XR
• Proclear multifocal toric
• Frequency 55 toric
• Encore 100 toric (Canada only)
• SofLens Toric for Astigmatism
• PureVision 2 Toric for Astigmatism

Daily Contact Lenses for Astigmatism

• Acuvue 1-Day Moist for Astigmatism
• Dailies AquaComfort Plus Toric
• Focus Dailies Toric (discontinued soon)
• Clariti 1-Day toric
• Biomedics 1-Day toric (Canada only)
• ClearSight 1-Day toric (US only)
• SofLens Daily Disposable for Astigmatism

Optometrists tend to have 1 or 2 'go-to' brands that they like to fit patients with. If you see something in the list above that your optometrist hasn't offered you, ask him or her to order you some trials and try them out.

New Contact Lenses for Astigmatism

ULTRA for Astigmatism

The ULTRA by Bausch + Lomb brand launched in 2014, and was the first new monthly contact lens in almost a decade. Its success triggered a cascade of new monthly contact lenses trying to capitalize on previously disgruntled monthly contact lens wearers.

ULTRA continued to break new grounds when it launched its ULTRA for Presbyopia line, making it the first new multifocal monthly contact lens in close to a decade.

And now, it is following suit with ULTRA for Astigmatism, the first new monthly option available to wearers of contact lenses for astigmatism in years.

If comfort has been an issue with your previous contact lenses for astigmatism, ULTRA for Astigmatism is definitely a brand you'll want to try.

Click here to read my complete review of ULTRA for Astigmatism.

MyDay Toric

MyDay toric is an impressive contact lens. It contains everything you would be looking for as a toric contact lens wearer.

Clear Vision

MyDay toric makes use of CooperVision's patented Optimised Toric Lens Geometry to achieve the best possible vision for a toric contact lens.

What is Optimised Toric Lens Geometry?

This technology is what makes wearing a contact lens for astigmatism possible. It is what aligns and stabilizes the contact lenses on your eyes which allows you to see clearly without constant vision fluctuations.

How does Optimised Toric Lens Geometry work?

• Uniform lens thickness — When the lens thickness is not uniform, blinking will cause rotation of the lenses.
• Smooth, even surface — Helps with comfort and lens stability.
• Large optic zone — Allows you to see better in all lighting environments.
• Optimised ballast design — The mechanism that allows the lens to correctly position itself on your eyes.

Note that this is not a new technology by any means — it is the same technology used in Biofinity Toric, so if you've tried Biofinity Toric without success, MyDay toric may not be much better for you.

Good Comfort

The MyDay toric lens uses CooperVision's Smart Silicone technology, which addresses many of the issues faced by previous brands of contact lenses that incorporate the use of silicone.

Silicone has now been added to contact lenses for years in order to make them more breathable. The downside to doing this is that the silicone also makes the lenses stiffer and less comfortable.

Smart Silicone technology is a new step in the evolution of contact lenses with silicone. It allows contact lenses to maintain the same high level of breathability without using nearly as much silicone, which improves the overall comfort of the lenses.

If you'd like to know more about the MyDay brand, you can read my full review here.

Downside of MyDay Toric

Although MyDay toric has many great features and benefits, they do not come without a hefty price tag. Daily disposable contact lenses for astigmatism are already among the most expensive contact lenses you can buy, let alone the best and newest brands such as MyDay toric.

Health and Convenience of Daily Contact Lenses

Being daily disposable contact lenses, MyDay toric and Acuvue Oasys 1-Day for Astigmatism (see below) automatically possess health and convenience benefits that monthly contact lenses for astigmatism do not have.

Daily contact lenses are safer

• They do not rely on proper cleaning procedures to remain sterile and free of harmful bacteria.
• They are discarded daily which doesn't allow harmful bacteria to grow on them and infect the eye.
• Drastically reduce the risk of infection in people who swim or fall asleep in their contact lenses.

Daily contact lenses are more convenient

• There is no need to spend time cleaning your lenses.
• There is no need to shop and spend money on contact lens cleaning solution.
• There is no need to carry around cases and cleaning solution on trips.

UV Protection

Many people who wear contact lenses do so because they lead active outdoor lifestyles. This makes people very vulnerable to the dangers of harmful UV rays produced by the sun.

Not every contact lens offers protection from UV rays, but MyDay toric and Acuvue Oasys 1-Day for Astigmatism do. Both of these brands provide protection against harmful UVA and UVB rays. For more information about the effects of UV rays on the eyes, click here.

Acuvue Oasys 1-Day for Astigmatism

Acuvue Oasys 1-Day is a premium daily disposable contact lens by Johnson & Johnson meant to revolutionize comfort for people who wear their lenses for long hours and make heavy use of digital devices.

Johnson & Johnson did not waste any time in expanding their newest line of daily disposable contact lenses. Shortly after they launched Acuvue Oasys 1-Day, they forged ahead and released Acuvue Oasys 1-Day for Astigmatism.

Acuvue Oasys 1-Day for Astigmatism boasts several new features compared to Johnson & Johnson's other line of daily contact lenses for astigmatism; Acuvue 1-Day Moist for Astigmatism.

First and foremost, this lens is based on its non-astigmatism counterpart: Acuvue Oasys 1-Day.

The goal of Johnson & Johnson while developing this lens was to create a contact lens for astigmatism that had:

• Unsurpassed comfort
• Consistent, clear and stable vision

In order to accomplish these feats, Acuvue Oasys 1-Day for Astigmatism combines two different contact lens technologies:

• HydraLuxe Technology
• Blink Stabilized Design

To learn more about HydraLuxe Technology, read my full Acuvue Oasys 1-Day review.

Blink Stabilized Design is Johnson & Johnson's patented method of preventing toric contact lenses from rotating once on the eyes.

Most toric contact lenses rely on weights placed at the bottom of the lenses and gravity to pull the weights down in order to keep the contact lenses in place. This type of stabilizing method works well when the head is upright and looking forward, but when the head is tilted or turned, gravity works against you and actually pulls the lenses out of alignment.

Johnson & Johnson's Blink Stabilized Design works differently. It has been strategically designed to interact with your eyelids such that every time you blink, it re-positions the lenses. This means that regardless of your head position, the lenses remain in the correct orientation.

Acuvue Vita for Astigmatism

This monthly contact lens for astigmatism was released after I wrote this article. I have written a full review of this brand, which you can read here.

Although Acuvue Vita for Astigmatism is a new monthly contact lens for astigmatism, it actually shares a few features in common with some other Acuvue brands, such as:

• HydraMax Technology: Acuvue Vita
• Blink Stabilized Design: Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism, Acuvue 1-Day Moist for Astigmatism, Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism
• Infinity Edge Design: Acuvue 2, Acuvue Vita

Summary

There are your 4 new contact lenses for astigmatism as of 2017:

• ULTRA for Astigmatism
• MyDay toric
• Acuvue Oasys 1-Day for Astigmatism
• Acuvue Vita for Astigmatism

This is likely not the end of this wave of new contact lenses for astigmatism, so keep visiting Contacts Advice for future updates.

If you've tried any of the new contact lenses for astigmatism mentioned in the article, let everyone know what you think of them in the comments below!

P.S. I am happy to answer questions about optics, contact lenses, brands, and prices in the comments below, but I do not offer any medically-related advice. I recommend speaking to a licensed health care professional for all medical concerns.