Astigmatisms

This five syllable word sounds a whole lot scarier than it actually is. Astigmatisms are a common diagnosis when someone comes to get an eye exam and they can be corrected. The word traces back to Greek roots with the literally meaning of "without a spot or mark." However, with astigmatisms, there are multiple points on where light focuses in the eye. Those multi focal points will cause vision to appear blurry.

The reason for this is because the cornea has an oblong shape, instead of a shape closer to a perfect sphere.

The picture above shows how the cornea is shaped in an odd way that is making the letter "A" appear to focus on two different parts of the eye. If that oddly shaped part followed the contour of the rest of the eye, there would only be one point of focus. That is where corrective lenses come into play.

Glasses are commonly thought to be the only way to correct for an astigmatism. This couldn't be further from the truth. Contact lenses are now able to fit around the astigmatism and properly correct vision, and not just the hard lenses. There are a number of soft lens options that are just as comfortable and have no discernible differences over the spherical counterparts. Refractive surgery like LASIK can also correct for astigmatism. Even if the astigmatism is severe, they can be corrected.

Astigmatisms can happen naturally or they can be caused by other factors. So if you have an astigmatism, your eye doctor will let you know and tell you about a proper course of correction.

If you want to learn more about Astigmatisms, visit All About Vision for more information.