Can (or should) someone with a slight astigmatism get contacts?

There are contacts that correct for astigmatism but they can be irritating—they’re weighted, so that they stay aligned on a vertical axis, and in theory, they shift slightly with each blink. I never noticed this, but I recall my optometrist saying that it would annoy him.

It sounds likeyour optometrist is talking about ordinary contacts which overcorrect, rather than special contacts designed to correct astigmatism… but if she is talking about the good ones, it will most likely be fine, especially if you’re only wearing them while running. It wasn’t a big deal for me.

i have slight astigmatism and wear contacts without problems. However, it took some trial and error on different brands and models before I found ones that work. A good optometrist should give you one free trial pair of the type that s/he suggests to try for a week. If that pair works, you can order more. If not, try another and onwards until you find one that works.

You won’t know whether you’ll love the contacts or hate them until you try them. Most contact-lens companies provide optometrists with free samples to use for fitting patients; ask about those and try them.

I’m astigmatic; I have had contact lenses in the past, and loved them, except that I work all day in front of a computer and the constant screen stare dried out my contacts and made them very unpleasant to wear after a couple hours. For days when I wasn’t at the computer, though, they were great.

See this question:

http://www.fluther.com/disc/5958/do-you-have-an-astigmatism-and-wear-contacts/

My optometrist kept trying to put me into the newer Acuvue lenses, both the Oasis and Advanced. For years before that, I’d been wearing Acuvue 2, and had no problems, but when I started wearing the newer “high-tech” lenses, they bothered my eyes horribly. I couldn’t wear them for longer than one or two hours at a time.

The Doc said it was probably the silicone in the lenses, but I suspect it might have had something to do with my astigmatism. He put me back in the Acuvue 2s and I’ve had no problems. The point is, keep trying different types—there’s sure to be one that’ll work for you.