Spherical Lenses vs. Toric Lenses

The first thing to note is that regular contact lenses are more accurately referred to as "spherical contact lenses." These lenses are designed for those individuals whose prescription does not involve astigmatism. Those with an astigmatism instead require toric contact lenses or RGP contact lenses.

Spherical lenses differ from toric lenses in that the prescription with spherical lenses is uniform, whereas the prescription for toric lenses is not. With toric contact lenses there is more than one prescription on the lens, which is required in order to compensate for the astigmatism.