Like eyeglasses, contact lenses can correct most astigmatism. They are available in a variety of types and styles. Contact lenses are also used in a procedure called orthokeratology. In orthokeratology, rigid contact lenses are worn during the night while sleeping until the curvature of the eye evens out.
Glasses or contacts can correct almost all cases of astigmatism. But if you have only a slight astigmatism and no other vision problems, you may not need them. If you have a common level of astigmatism, you'll probably have corrective lenses, like glasses or contacts, or surgery.
Many people with astigmatism need glasses or contact lenses to see clearly, but if you want to cure your astigmatism, either LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) or PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) can correct your vision.
LASIK surgery
Eye surgery can correct the shape of your eye, removing the need for lenses to correct astigmatism.
Astigmatism is worse at night or in low light conditions because your eyes dilate in need of more light, increasing the cause of glares, halos, blurry and distorted vision. So, it's important to check with your eye doctor if it's safe for you to drive at night, as streetlights and taillights may appear blurred.
Astigmatism frequently worsens with age. Your cornea can become more irregular due to pressure from your eyelids as they lose muscle tone. Astigmatism generally stays stable until your turn 50. After then, your lens curvature progressively worsens each decade.
Astigmatism will not go away on its own. It will either stay the same or get worse with age. While this reality can seem daunting, the good news is that it can be easily corrected.
Some of the best nutrients to add to your diet if you have astigmatism are zinc, magnesium, and calcium. You can get high servings of zinc by eating lima beans, oysters, and poultry. Magnesium is found in pumpkin seeds, soybeans, black beans, sunflower seeds, and halibut.
Astigmatism surgery
Having surgery is the only way to permanently correct astigmatism. However, your type and degree of astigmatism, corneal thickness, age and other eye conditions are all factors in whether surgery is the best option — and if so, which type of surgery.
Wearing glasses can't make astigmatism worse, even if they are the wrong prescription. Astigmatism is caused by the shape of the eye's cornea or lens, and glasses can't change those.
Astigmatism isn't caused or made worse by reading in poor light, sitting too close to the television or squinting.
If you have astigmatism, your eye doctor will prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses to fully correct your vision. If you are over age 18 and your glasses prescription has been stable for at least a year, LASIK or other refractive surgery is an option to correct astigmatism without glasses or contacts.
Glasses or soft contacts cannot usually correct irregular astigmatism completely, but customized contacts can usually overcome this problem. Rigid gas permeable or scleral contact lenses can correct irregular astigmatism and they may be able to get the eye back to 20/20.
Usually astigmatism above 1 degree causes much visual disturbance. If your vision is affected a lot, you should wear glasses to help your eyes not have to adjust too much. For people with low or low myopia, if eye fatigue and dry eyes do not appear but can still see clearly, they do not need to wear glasses regularly.
By doing astigmatism eye exercises every day, you can improve poor vision due to astigmatism. You don't need to resort to eye surgery or surrender to a lifetime of eyeglasses.
Astigmatism Can Look Shadowy
Caused by the same focal point issue as blurry vision, incorrect eye curvature can make it look like every object has a translucent, ghost-like shadow. Whether a patient sees objects as blurry or shadowy, they certainly do not see with clear vision.
Not wearing glasses for astigmatism won't make your astigmatism worse, however. The severity of your astigmatism has nothing to do with whether or not you're using corrective lenses to treat it.
Symptoms of astigmatism will grow worse over time
If you have astigmatism, and have not had it corrected it through surgical means, there's a significant chance you'll notice the quality of your vision declining over time. This deterioration can happen slowly…but eventually, it'll become all too difficult to ignore.
Most people have a mild prescription, between 0.5 to 0.75 D. They may not really notice it in their daily lives. People with a measurement of more than . 75 D may need contacts or eyeglasses to correct their vision to see clearly.
Overuse of Electronic Devices: The excessive use of smartphones, tablets, computers, and other electronic devices could lead to astigmatism, as well as dry eye. Improper Light Levels: Watching TV or using electronic screens in the dark can cause eye strain and eye fatigue and possibly be a cause for astigmatism.
Why is that? Answer: Some call this "second sight" which has a simple physiological explanation. As the lens of the eye hardens as we age (the predecessor of frank cataracts) it changes the way light is "bent" as it enters the eye much the way different prescriptions in a pair of glasses do.
LASIK eye surgery is an effective type of laser-assisted refractive surgery that can be used to treat common vision problems including astigmatism, myopia (nearsightedness), and hyperopia (farsightedness).