Toric lenses are particularly for astigmatism. While spherical contact lenses correct nearsightedness or farsightedness, toric lenses are designed to correct astigmatism, a corneal astigmatism or lenticular astigmatism as well as a combination of them.
Astigmatic cornea is deeper in one direction and flatter in the other. In other words, the cornea may be more oval-shaped than spherical or round-shaped. Is this case, regular contact lenses can not correct all of your vision problems. Toric lenses are the right solution since they are designed to give your eyes more power in one direction and less in the opposite direction. Once you are comfortably fitted, toric lenses can correct your astigmatism.
Toric lenses are special in lens design. Unlike regular lenses, they have two powers, created with curvatures at different angles. One of them is for astigmatism and the other for myopia or hyperopia. So that toric lenses can correct both of them. In this design, toric lenses are truly the special products for people who are astigmatic and also need far vision help or near vision help.
Toric lenses have no difference in material with regular contact lenses. In the early days, people having astigmatism may be told that they were not suitable to wear soft contact lenses. It is not true today. Toric lenses are available in soft and rigid gas permeable (RGP) types. Soft toric lenses are more comfortable than RGP lenses. A small percentage of patients prefer RGP toric lenses over soft contact lenses, because RGPs maintain shape on the cornea better than soft ones.