What is Astigmatism?
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Astigmatism is best described as an eye ball that is not perfectly round. The most optimal shape for the eye, is to be like a golf ball. When someone has astigmatism, their eye lacks that perfect sphere, commonly described as more of a football shape. In reality, this is effecting mostly the front surface of the eye or the cornea. When light enters into the eye, it should blend evenly giving your vision a clear view, however when you have astigmatism, the light comes in a different angles which frequently causes blurred vision. The good news is, this is a rather easy fix with corrective lenses.
Both eye glasses and contact lenses can correct astigmatism to give you clearer vision. Generally when choosing which to go with, it comes down to personal preference. You should always have a pair of glasses in your prescription, but may opt to wear contacts on a daily basis. Either way, you can correct astigmatism along with nearsightedness and/or farsightedness all at once with the newest lens technology.
What do people with astigmatism see?
As stated above, astigmatism most commonly results in blurry vision. These distortions can be more apparent at night or in low light settings. This is because your pupil gets larger as the light decreases to allow more light to enter into the eye. When this happens, there is more surface area that is not the perfect sphere getting that light and causing more opportunity for the light to reflect in a negative way to clear vision. If you are starting to notice an increase in blurry or distorted vision at night, it is time for a visit to your eye doctor to have things checked out.
Does astigmatism get worse?
It is possible for the astigmatism to get worse as you age. Sometimes when adults need glasses after not needing them for their lifetime thus far, it is due to the astigmatism worsening over time causing the vision to become distorted. If you had only a minor case of astigmatism growing up, it may not have effected your vision much at all. If you are experiencing lessened vision over time, it is very important to have things checked out to ensure the health of your eyes stays to its maximum potential.
Can you tell from an eye prescription if you have astigmatism?
Yes! You most recent prescription will indicate if you have astigmatism. It will typically not jump right out at you if you are reading it but a doctor can read it for you to let you know. There should be two columns that can indicate astigmatism. The first column to look at is CYL, which stands for cylinder. When that number is something other than 0, then you have astigmatism. The higher that number is, either + or -, the greater severity of astigmatism you have. Following that, is the AXIS column that tells us where the light is going inside the eye. This number will be between 0 and 180 and can be different for each eye. These two columns tell you doctor how the light enters the eye so that they can get you the correct lens to counteract this.
Can you go blind from astigmatism?
No, astigmatism will not cause you to go blind. It is a very common occurrence that is generally easily fixed with corrective lenses. In some cases, you can have a surgery like LASIK to further correct the issue. Although you can not go blind from astigmatism, you should still have your eyes checked yearly to ensure the proper prescription is being used and to ensure that there are no other more serious problems lurking below the surface. You do not want to simply assume that your blurry vision is being caused by astigmatism, but if you do have it, it is not to fear. Anyways, everyone looks good in the right glasses!
