What Are Toric Color Contact Lenses?
Before I can start with toric color contact lenses I have to make sure that you are aware of the different types of problems one can have with their vision. These corrective errors are simply called myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism and I wlll shortly explain them here below.
Myopia
One of the common problems that people have with their eyesight is myopia that is a retractive defect caused by either the fact that the eyeball is too long, or the cornea is simply too steep. This will cause the image to be formed too near to the cornea when the person is looking at an image that is far away, making a myoptic person near sighted. It is treated with a concave lens.
Hyperopia
Well if you read the paragraph above, you now have a good idea of what a myoptic eye does wrong, and a hyperoptic eye is the complete opposite. Usually these people have an eyeball that is a bit flat, causing the sharp image to be formed behind the retina when one is looking at an object or an image nearby. In the worst cases it is impossible to actually form a good image at any distance. Based on the severity of the case different levels are classified as simple, pathological or functional. Hyperopia is treated with a convex lense.
Astigmatism
This is actually a much more complex issue than the two before, which make toric contacts sometimes even useless. An astigmatic eye has the light rays propagate in separate planes making it impossible to form a clear image at any distance, since these planes have a different foci. In worse case scenarios there are multiple plains that are irregular, making it necessary to get custom lenses to halp with the vision. Since there have been huge advancements made in the area of optics, it is possible to custom manufacture lenses that fit almost any astigmatic eye.
Presbyopia
This isn't actually classified as an optical problem or a corrective error because it is caused by the fact that the lens in your eye loses it's resilient when it ages, making it impossible for it to round as much as is needed to focus on nearby objects. This leaves us with a problem where one can see perfectly objects that are far away, but have trouble focusing on nearby objects. This will usually occure with age even if the eye doesn't have any other corrective errors.
Toric Color Contacts
I have been writing about all kinds of contact lenses on this website, and just to make it clear toric contacts can be bought in all the same materials as regular lenses. You can get disposable, monthly, daily, breathable, RPG, continuous wear toric contact lenses and you can even get toric colored contacts in every color of the rainbow and also with different textures. The only thing that changes is the shape and design of the lens. Depending on the severity of your astigmatism you can get contacts that fit your eyes. Since toric lenses have two different powers in them - due to the fact that an astigmatic system has two plains - they are created with two different curvatures that are placed at different angles. The other is intended to collect the two different planes and make them produce a false image for the second curvature, which is designed for your myopia or hyperopia. To be very clear about it, this latter power isn't directly reflecting the level of refractive error in your eyes, but rather correcting the error that the lense correcting the astigmatism is creating.
Since you have two different plains in your eyes the lens has to be fixed in your eye for it to work perfectly. Imagine twisting the letter X - where the two lines would each represent one of the planes - twisting this lense would produce different images that are blurry or non focused for your eye. The opticians have developed different systems in toric contacts to keep them in correct position in your eye, allowing you to enjoy a sharp focused image at all times.
If you are looking to buy toric color contact lenses online, then you are in for some work. If you only have a mild case of astigmatism that is below one diopter you could get away with just regular colored contacts when you need them. If you are looking to wear a specific tinted lense to wear every day or have a more serious case of astigmatism, you should contact a reliable eye care practitioner and ask for more information on whether they can produce contact lenses for you.
Multifocal toric contact lenses have been specifically designed for people with presbyopia. You can also find them in all the possible materials and types, just like with the regular toric contacts.