If you're struggling with blurry vision, eyestrain, headaches, or difficulty seeing at night, there is a good chance that you have astigmatism. Often referred to as stigmatism, astigmatism is a clinical term used to describe vision problems that stem from a misshaped cornea, the protective outer layer of the eye.
Astigmatism (ah-stig-mah-tiz-uhm) is probably one of the most misunderstood eye conditions. Even the name itself is challenging and is often incorrectly called “stigmatism”. Some people think astigmatism is more serious than it actually is. Astigmatism is not a disease.
What is astigmatism? Astigmatism is a common eye problem that can make your vision blurry or distorted. It happens when your cornea (the clear front layer of your eye) or lens (an inner part of your eye that helps the eye focus) has a different shape than normal.
Astigmatism is usually caused by your cornea having an irregular shape. Eye care specialists call this corneal astigmatism. You can also have lenticular astigmatism, where the lens in your eye has an irregular shape. Lenticular astigmatism is often caused by cataracts.
Most times astigmatism is not a serious eye condition, but causes eye strain and fatigue – impacting school and office performances. However, astigmatism can sometimes hide a sight-threatening eye condition. Astigmatism, like myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness), is a common refractive error.
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.
If left untreated, astigmatism may cause eyestrain, headaches, and blurry vision. If you have astigmatism you may not see objects in the distance or near without some form of distortion.
Astigmatism does not always require the use of glasses. A person can have slight astigmatism and still see clearly. Similar to the rest of the body, the eyes change over time, so regular eye checks with your local optometrist are of importance.
Can Glasses Help Astigmatism? Yes, glasses can correct astigmatism and dramatically clarify your eyesight. Glasses for astigmatism are fitted with corrective cylindrical lenses that help to properly refract light onto the retina of the eye.
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.
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 is a common visual impairment for which many veterans may not realize they could collect disability compensation.
You can have 20/20 vision and still have astigmatism. Unlike presbyopia that makes focusing on close objects difficult or impossible or myopia that makes focusing on distant objects difficult or impossible, astigmatism gives you sometimes clear vision and sometimes blurry vision at all distances.
The result is blurry vision. People with astigmatism may experience mild to severe distorted vision, depending on the degree of astigmatism. While myopia (nearsightedness) makes far-away objects blurry and hyperopia (farsightedness) makes close-up objects blurry, astigmatism makes things blurry at every distance.
Astigmatism is often incorrectly thought of as an eye disease or eye health problem. It is simply a very common focusing problem that is caused by an irregularity of the curvature of the cornea (the front of the eye).
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.
Someone with astigmatism has an irregularly shaped cornea instead of a round shape. This football shape prevents light from focusing directly on the retina causing blurry, distorted vision, headaches, and eyestrain. At night you will see starbursts or glare around lights making night driving dangerous.
Can You go Blind with Astigmatism? Astigmatism can lead to reduced vision, but blindness is not a risk. However, it may be difficult for people with astigmatism to read and write without glasses or contacts because of the blurriness in the distance.
There are a few causes that can cause your astigmatism to become worse. Some causes are continuing to read or do activities in poor lighting, aging, and not getting the proper treatment in time. During this process, the cornea may expand which can make it even more difficult to treat astigmatism.
Astigmatism is an eye condition that leads to blurry vision caused by the irregular shaped cornea. It takes quite a time especially with astigmatism, it can take 3 to 4 days. It can go on for a week or 5 to 6 days if you have moderate or severe astigmatism.
Unlike glasses or contacts, which just address astigmatism so you can see clearly with assistive devices, laser eye surgery is the only treatment to potentially resolve astigmatism so you no longer need glasses or contacts.
What are examples of mental illness stigma? When someone with a mental illness is called 'dangerous', 'crazy' or 'incompetent' rather than unwell, it is an example of a stigma. It's also stigma when a person with mental illness is mocked or called weak for seeking help. Stigma often involves inaccurate stereotypes.