Can Astigmatism Get Worse Suddenly

What is astigmatism? What are the correction options?

Man with eye fatigue

What is astigmatism?

Astigmatism is a type of refractive error caused by the irregularities in the shape of a person's cornea, (the articulate window above the coloured iris). In this condition, the centre fails to focus the light equally on the retina leading to blurred or distorted vision. It tin exist present at the time of birth, or can develop gradually in life.

Astigmatism is a common eye condition which commonly occurs with myopia (short-sightedness) or hyperopia (long-sightedness) and can be easily diagnosed with a elementary eye test.

Astigmatism is a refractive error and is not an centre disease or middle wellness upshot.

Astigmatism is but a problem with how the eye focuses calorie-free.

Astigmatism symptoms

Astigmatism usually causes vision to be blurred or distorted to some degree at all distances. Some of its symptoms are eye strain, headaches, squinting and center irritation.

What causes astigmatism?

Astigmatism is commonly caused by an irregularly shaped cornea. Instead of the cornea having a symmetrically circular shape (like a soccer ball), information technology is shaped more than similar an egg (or rugby ball), with one meridian being significantly more curved than the meridian perpendicular to information technology.

(To understand what meridians are, think of the front of the centre like the face of a clock. A line connecting the 12 and 6 is i meridian; a line connecting the 3 and ix is some other.)

The steepest and flattest meridians of an eye with astigmatism are called the principal meridians.

In some cases, astigmatism is caused by the distortion of shape of the lens inside the eye. This is called lenticular astigmatism, to differentiate it from the more common corneal astigmatism.

It's important to schedule an center test for your child to avoid vision problems in school from undetected and uncorrected astigmatism.

3 types of astigmatism

At that place are three primary types of astigmatism:

Myopic astigmatism.

I or both main meridians of the eye are brusk-sighted. (If both meridians are curt-sighted, they are myopic in differing caste.)

Hyperopic astigmatism.

One or both main meridians are long-sighted. (If both are long-sighted, they are hyperopic in differing degree.)

Mixed astigmatism.

1 prinicipal meridian is short-sighted, and the other is long-sighted.

Astigmatism is also classified as regular or irregular. In regular astigmatism, the primary meridians are 90 degrees apart (perpendicular to each other). In irregular astigmatism, the chief meridians are not perpendicular.

Most astigmatism is regular corneal astigmatism, which gives the front end surface of the center an oval shape.

Irregular astigmatism can result from an center injury that has caused scarring on the cornea, from sure types of center surgery or from keratoconus, a disease that causes a gradual thinning of the cornea.

Astigmatism tests

Astigmatism is detected during a routine eye exam with the aforementioned instruments and techniques used for the detection of short-sightedness and long-sightedness.

Your optometrist can judge your prescription, including the corporeality of astigmatism yous take, by shining a light into your eye while manually introducing a series of lenses betwixt the light and your center. This test is called retinoscopy.

Astigmatism correction options

Astigmatism tin can usually be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.

Refractive surgery is one of the less common astigmatism correction options, however, since information technology is a laser procedure that changes the shape of your eyes, it comes with risks associated with most surgeries.

Astigmatism should be treated every bit soon as possible. Once diagnosed, regular visits to an optometrist are required equally astigmatism can fluctuate over time, making it necessary for prescriptions to exist modified.

Page published on Monday, 16 March 2020

Page updated on Tuesday, 27 July 2021