Pure Vision For Some - But Not Me (Bausch & Lomb PureVision Toric)

Member Name: Teena2003

Product:	Bausch & Lomb PureVision Toric
Date:	26/05/08 (2363 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: corrects astigmatism, continous wear up to 30 days

Disadvantages: not for everyone, can rotate and cause blurred vision, price

After years of wearing glasses, I finally decided that contact lenses were the better option for me. And not only did I want contact lenses (after all, about 20 years ago I wore gas permeable lenses) I wanted to wear them all the time and all through the night as well. I really couldn't be bothered with all the taking out and cleaning and then putting them in again in the morning. What I was after was constant wear, just changing them once a month to put a new pair in.

When I went for my contact lens assessment (I knew I could wear them, it was only a formality) I specified that I wanted to wear the lenses all the time - despite the optician being dead against it, telling me it was not a good idea. But after my lens assessment the optometrist told me there was no objection to trying out continuous wear lenses. I was told that I should try Bausch & Lomb's PureVision Toric lenses - after all, I do have moderate astigmatism** and apparently it was prudent to correct that first.


** Astigmatism: Astigmatism occurs when the front part of the eye, the cornea, is not a regular symmetrical spherical shape. Instead, its shape is rather like that of the back of a spoon (or rugby ball) - longer in one direction than another. Because the cornea is an irregular shape, the eye can't focus light passing through it sharply on to the back of the eye or retina. So vision is blurred at all distances.

© www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/astigmatism2.shtml


I wasn't too convinced simply because I need bi or varifocal glasses, two different prescriptions for distance and reading. And the toric lenses would only cover the distance part (although they would correct my astigmatism).

Ever one for trying new things I agreed to PureVision Toric (although I had to promise not to wear them overnight right from the beginning). I scheduled regular check ups - very important at the beginning of the contact lens trial.

After years of not wearing lenses I found that soft lenses were a complete mystery to me. When I got my gas permeable lenses I was also supplied with a little sucker to get the lenses out of my eyes at the end of the day because I found using my fingers didn't quite work for me.

Getting used to soft lenses was certainly a learning curve for me. I was lucky that my lenses contained two prescriptions, therefore making them a little thicker and easier to handle. Scooping the lenses out of their container was no problem at all. PureVision toric lenses are slightly coloured - a faint blue tint - so you can easily find them in the solution (or when you drop them down the drain and have a boss who takes the drain apart for you to find it).

It's fairly easy to position the lens on the tip of one finger (after cleaning hands thoroughly) and then just popping it into the eye. Of course, if you don't like touching your eye or have anything come near it you might not be the best candidate for contact lenses as you have to get really close to your eye to insert and take out the lenses.

Removing the lenses is just as easy. You get taught two different methods and pick the one that you like best and find easiest. My first time removing the lenses ended with me poking myself in my right eye so much that I burst a couple of blood vessels and had a blood shot eye for a few days.

Because toric lenses have two prescription in them (your wide or near vision and astigmatism correction) they are designed slightly different. If you imagine your eye ball shaped a little like a rugby ball you have to see that the lens has to settle to correct the problem. Normal lenses have the same prescription all the way around and it doesn't matter it the lens moves on your cornea. But toric lenses are weight down at the bottom so that the axis to correct the astigmatism will always be in the right place. You can actually see this with the naked eye, there are three lines to tell the optician and you that they are placed in the correct place. When you are wearing the lenses you will not actually see the lines (or numbering).

Well, I tried my toric lenses and it was a revelation. The lenses didn't hurt, they fit perfectly and my glasses became obsolete - until I tried to read something or sat in front of the computer. Suddenly my vision was totally blurred. I just never realised how much I relied on my varifocal glasses that make everything look perfect. Having to live with perfect distance vision and astigmatism correction suddenly had its disadvantages. I couldn't see close up any more.

However, apart from not being able to see close up without reading glasses, I experienced blurred vision on a regular basis. Blinking and trying to rotate the lens in my eye made it better temporarily but that was not the solution.

My first contact lens check up revealed the following:

1. Wearing the lenses continuously was no problem, my eyes reacted well to day and night wear of the lenses
2. I needed two prescription to make sure I could read near and distance
3. The lenses rotated on average 15% in either direction resulting in blurred vision

I battled on for a couple more weeks to see if the lenses settled (a second trial pair had been ordered to see if it would make a difference) but the lenses did not settle and continued to rotate.

I have now been trying out contact lenses over a number of months and have finally found the perfect solution for me. The solution is NOT toric lenses as they do not settle in my eyes in the position they are supposed to.

When the contact lenses were in the correct position and I didn't need to see close up, they were perfect. I had clear, pristine vision without even feeling the lenses. The only time I did feel the lenses was after waking up when they had to re-position themselves after a good night's sleep (and rapid eye movement). In my case it took only a matter or a minute of two before the lens settled back into its position - never the perfect position it should have settled in but good enough to give me perfect vision (at least when it came to distance).

Toric lenses are designed to correct astigmatism, making it easy for sufferers to wear contact lenses and not rely solely on glasses. They are oxygen rich, meaning they let oxygen through so your eyes don't dry out. But toric lenses are not for everyone. While Bausch & Lomb PureVision Toric were great to start with, they did not correct all the problems I had and I was left with a number of options:

1. Wear reading glasses on top of the contacts but defeating the object of wearing no glasses at all
2. Switch to mono vision - one eye distance, one eye close up vision (not an option for me, it gave me headaches and eye strain)
3. Try 'normal' lenses and accept a certain degree of blurring because there was no astigmatism correction. It turned out this was actually the better option for me and after trying dailies I am now on multifocal PureVision lenses and they are just perfect for me

If you have single vision (either distance or near) and astigmatism, then it is certainly worth a try. The lenses are super comfortable, extended wear up to 30 days and night (if approved by your optician) and give you great vision. But you have to make sure the lenses settle properly on your cornea and don't move around because that will blur your vision and make it less than great for you.

While the lenses were not right for me, I cannot fault them. They did what they said on the pack, and unless there is a problem or a third prescription, you might want to try them. Ask you optician about them and see if they can't arrange a free trial, you may be surprise.

And look online for the best price, going with the optician's own lenses by post service is not necessarily the best option but until you are sorted out, you might want to pay the little extra and enjoy the option of free check ups (mine were on a weekly basis and saving me on average £10-20 minimum)

Summary: Contact Lenses to correct astigmatism