All You Need to Know About Astigmatism

All You Need to Know About Astigmatism
By Guzel De Jong

When what your eyes see looks a little distorted and blurry, then you might be suffering from astigmatism. Now, don't panic. Many people have astigmatism, even if they don't know it, and minor cases don't affect the vision in a noticeable way. But what if it does?
Let's see what astigmatism is. It is a condition of the eyes where the cornea is irregular in shape. This causes the light to be refracted differently which results in blurry vision. This difference in curvature may be very slight or more pronounced.

Astigmatism may be so mild you don't even know you have it, or it can cause serious problems such as distorted vision and headaches. Many people with this problem also have myopia or hyperopia.

If you get a regular eye exam, your eye doctor will let you know if you develop astigmatism. Normally, your doctor will measure how your eyes focus light and measure the curvature of your cornea. He uses tests and instruments to determine the curvature of your cornea.

If needed, then this optical defect is treated with corrective actions. It could mean you have to start wearing prescription eyewear, such as glasses or contact lenses, but there are also options such as orthokeratology, laser or other refractive surgery techniques.

Most people will choose eyeglasses. It's safer and not as risky as an operation. The prescription is ground in a special way to compensate for the astigmatism. For the people around you they will look like ordinary glasses.

Contact lenses also work very well for some people. Special toric soft lenses are usually prescribed for astigmatic eyes. They help reshape the cornea for better vision.

Orthokeratology involves fitting a series of rigid contact lenses for a patient to help reshape the cornea. Each set of lenses is worn for a limited period of time, such as overnight, and then removed from the eyes. This helps some people to be able to see without corrective lenses during the day. Note that this is not a permanent cure!

Now to surgery. Laser procedures such as LASIK may also be used to reshape the cornea. This procedure removes an inner layer of the eye tissue to help shape the cornea correctly. Most patients immediately notice improvement in their vision following laser surgery. However, your vision can continue to improve for up to six months afterwards. Though hundreds of thousands of people today have had this type of eye surgery with exceptional results, you should not forget that LASIK is an operation with a certain risk.