Do you suspect you or your loved one have astigmatism? Do you want to understand the astigmatism severity scale? You are at the correct spot. Astigmatism is a common eye condition that occurs when the cornea or lens of the eye is not perfectly curved, which affects how light enters your eye. This may cause blurry or distorted vision.
This can result in difficulties focusing on both near and distant objects. Luckily, it can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or LASIK eye surgery. Recognizing your astigmatism severity helps you manage it efficiently with a suitable treatment option. So, get ready to explore the world of astigmatism. This blog walks you through it all! Continue reading Astigmatism Severity Scale Explained for Better Vision Management
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
Are you wondering about the distinctions between Keratoconus and Astigmatism? You’ve arrived at the correct link! These two eye disorders are commonly confused with one another, but they are not the same. Understanding the differences between them is critical for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
So, strap in and prepare to plunge into the realm of eye health because you are going to discover the differences between these two in detail in terms of symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment. Let’s get started with Keratoconus vs Astigmatism! Continue reading Keratoconus vs. Astigmatism – What You Need to Know!
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
Astigmatism is a common vision health concern. It occurs when the cornea or lens of the eye has an irregular shape, which causes blurred or distorted vision. However, you don’t need to worry if you have this eye condition, as it is relatively manageable.
So, can you wear contacts with astigmatism to correct your vision? The simple answer is yes. You can wear contact lenses with astigmatism. However, it is essential to understand the different types of eyewear available for astigmatism and how to choose the right one. Let’s explore more!
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
Many individuals experience vision problems caused by refractive errors, which are commonly attributed to irregularities in the structures of the eye, such as the cornea, lens, or overall shape. Distinguishing between different refractive errors can be challenging since they often coexist. Among these errors, astigmatism and myopia are two prevalent disorders that can affect the eyes. While they share certain similarities, they also have distinct characteristics that set them apart. Continue reading Astigmatism vs. Myopia – What’s the Difference?
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
Astigmatism refers to the term in which your cornea or lens isn’t round in shape. It’s a common vision disorder, and its symptoms include blurred vision, difficulty with driving at night, headaches, eye pain, and glare sensitivity. Astigmatism usually develops in childhood and changes our eye shape into a football-like shape from its usual spherical form.
This unusual shape causes light rays to bend in more than one direction, which causes blurred vision. Astigmatism usually doesn’t require any surgeries, and in most cases, you can treat it with glasses or contact lenses but if left untreated several factors can cause Astigmatism to worsen. Continue reading What Causes Astigmatism to Worsen?
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
Astigmatism is the imperfection of the cornea’s curvature or lens. The cornea is the transparent layer on the outside of the eye that transmits and focuses the entry of the light into the eye.
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
It’s not every day that you see people talking about interesting facts about eyesight. But how much do you know about your eye health? There are some who are blessed with perfect 20/20 vision, while others are completely blind. But what about people with certain eye conditions? How can you tell if you have poor vision at all?
Imagine driving down a dimly lit road at night and seeing lights that seem to stretch out in unusual ways. For people with astigmatism, this is a common occurrence that can not only be frustrating but also potentially dangerous. Astigmatism lights appear streaky, blurry, or haloed, and this can severely impair your ability to drive safely at night. So what exactly is astigmatism, and how can you take measures to ensure that your night driving experience is as safe as possible?
In this article, we’ll explore the answers to these questions and provide you with some practical tips to help you drive safely with astigmatism.
Astigmatism vs Normal – How people with Astigmatism see?
People with astigmatism see differently than those with normal vision. They may experience blurry or distorted vision at all distances, which can make it difficult to read, drive, or perform other activities that require clear vision. In particular, people with astigmatism often have difficulty with night driving due to the glare of oncoming headlights.
Astigmatism can cause images to appear stretched, skewed, or tilted, which can make it hard to identify shapes or read letters on a page. People with astigmatism may also experience eye strain, headaches, or eye fatigue as their eyes work harder to compensate for the vision problem. The severity of astigmatism varies from person to person. In some cases, it may be so mild that it doesn’t require treatment, while in others, it may cause significant vision problems.
What Does Astigmatism Look Like?
Astigmatism lights – Halos, fuzzy vision & streaky lights cause issues with driving at night with astigmatism
Due to Astigmatism the misshapen cornea or lens doesn’t allow proper light intake in your eyes. This common refractive error results in lights getting scattered instead of focusing on your retina, potentially causing blurred vision. Therefore if you have astigmatism, you need to squint your eyes more. You may also find yourself reducing the glares of the things in front of you whenever possible.
And the interesting part is that people born with astigmatism may never know this difference until someone points that out to them. But if you are amongst those who developed astigmatism over time, you will gradually, if not instantly, know that something is wrong with your vision. It’s easy to spot the difference between astigmatism vision vs. normal vision.
Astigmatism lights notoriously appear
hazy with holes
with excessive glare
streaky
blurry or fuzzy
That Viral Tweet from 2019 illustrating how people with astigmatism see – How accurate is it?
This Twitter post from 2019 spread like wildfire and fuelled responses from around the world. It made people question their eyesight. It depicted what vision with astigmatism looks like vs vision without astigmatism.
Astigmatism is when the cornea is slightly curved rather than completely round.
With astigmatism, light focuses on several points of the retina rather just one point. This is what people with Astigmatisms vs without. pic.twitter.com/RXWWayFBRJ
In the first image, the light from the brake lights and traffic signs appear distorted, stretching into a wide, starburst shape. This indicated what astigmatism vision looks like. In the second image, the lights coming off of the traffic light appear softer and have a halo shape, which represents clear vision.
This tweet gathered over 80,000 reactions and led many to suspect they had undiagnosed astigmatism. Most of the people who reacted thought the image on the left was a representation of perfect vision, and the results shocked them. Some people with glasses thought the distorted vision was actually a normal condition.
However, journalists from BuzzFeed clarified with the eye doctors, that there is no single image that can accurately represent astigmatism or diagnose its presence. Only a qualified optometrist or ophthalmologist can diagnose astigmatism. The image in the tweet could be attributed to common causes like glare or dry eyes. The main message here is to avoid self-diagnosing based on online information or images and instead, seek professional advice from an eye doctor to receive the appropriate treatment for your eyes.
Driving at Night With Astigmatism
By now, you may understand what astigmatism vision looks like at night if the processing of lights is so distorted normally. Yes, astigmatism gets pretty much worse at night. Specifically, it’s scary to drive at night with astigmatism.
Unlike daytime, there is more darkness all around at night. So naturally, your pupils dilate to allow more light inside the eye. But with astigmatism, more light means more glare. The traffic lights, street lights, and headlights of other vehicles help people with normal vision navigate the roads at night. However, astigmatism vision can make it harder to distinguish between different types of light sources mentioned above. This can make driving at night particularly challenging for people with astigmatism.
Now you know the different effects of astigmatism at night vs. normal daytime. It’s much worse and more confusing during the night. In the next section, let’s deep dive into the solution for people driving with astigmatism at night. Keep reading if you are one of them!
Solutions for Safely Driving at Night With Astigmatism
Your eye doctor will agree that the following solutions help combat astigmatism lights at night while driving.
Get Your Vision Corrected
Getting your vision corrected is essential since most critical decisions made by drivers are based on sight. Many drivers aren’t aware of the relationship between good vision and good driving, especially if you drive at night.
There are two vision correction options to make life easy for you. The first one is glasses. It’s a proven solution for astigmatism at night. Otherwise, you can get toric lenses. However, you may need some time to get used to them. Schedule an eye exam with your eye doctor and figure out what works best for you.
Wear Anti-Reflector Glasses
If you choose good old glasses to address astigmatism at night, get the anti-reflector glasses. They are much less likely to intensify glare than other corrective lenses. They can also help cut down on poor vision in low light, helping manage refractive errors and making it easier for you to drive at night.
If you are already comfortable with wearing glasses, try the anti-reflector ones and know the difference.
Use Contact Moisturizing Drops
Having to deal with painful, irritated eyes while driving can be not only annoying but also dangerous. Toric lenses for astigmatism often result in dry eyes. Driving at night can also result in a glare that reflects off the dry, irregular surface of the cornea.
If you wear contact lenses to correct astigmatism, use contact moisturizing drops to prevent drying your toric lenses.
Get a LASIK Eye Surgery
LASIK eye surgery refers to laser eye surgery and vision correction. It’s considered the permanent solution to the everyday annoyances of dealing with corrective lenses when you have astigmatism.
With a quick recovery rate, LASIK eye surgery can save you money on the annual costs of glasses and contact lenses. And more importantly, it will help you with a better vision to allow you to drive safely.
Additional Tips That May Help With Your Astigmatism Night Driving
Adjust your headlights: Make sure your headlights are properly aligned and aimed, as misaligned headlights can make it harder to see while driving at night.
Clean your windshield and headlights: Dirt and grime on your windshield and headlights can cause glare and reduce visibility. Regularly clean both to ensure optimal visibility.
Reduce interior lights: Bright interior lights can reflect on your windshield and make it difficult to see. Dim your dashboard lights and avoid using your phone or other bright devices while driving.
Slow down: Driving at a slower speed can give you more time to react to unexpected situations and reduce the risk of accidents.
Take breaks: If you feel tired or have blurry vision, take a break and rest your eyes. This can help reduce eye strain and improve your ability to see while driving.
Parting Words
Driving at night with astigmatism is a severe life hazard. Therefore, you must not only do your own vision analysis. You also must show these pictures to your family members and loved ones to check which image they identify with.
The issue of astigmatism lights can easily be resolved with solutions like glasses, toric lenses, and LASIK eye surgery. Also, an eye exam is important not just to correct astigmatism vision but it is to safeguard your overall health and wellness.
If you have untreated astigmatism, lights may appear streaky, hazy, haloed, or ringed by a starburst pattern. This can have a significant negative impact on your night driving abilities and make it challenging to see well in low light.
Astigmatism patients may be sensitive to light, especially in a bright environment. This is because astigmatism can make it uncomfortable and sensitive for the eyes to focus on light. However, not everyone who has astigmatism suffers from light sensitivity, as it might differ based on the person's particular condition.
Starbursts around lights can be a common symptom of astigmatism or other vision issues, caused by the irregular shape of the cornea or lens in the eye. For an accurate diagnosis and treatment, it's crucial to visit an eye doctor.
Astigmatism can be corrected by Lasik. However, it is crucial to consult with an ophthalmologist to find out if you are a suitable candidate for the procedure.
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
Most people with astigmatism are born this way. It’s a natural condition. In rare cases, astigmatism can result from an eye injury or surgery. Astigmatism stems from a bend in the cornea in a way that distorts light.
Almost everyone has some degree of astigmatism because their vision is not perfect. Symptoms include blurry vision, headaches, squinting, and poor night vision. The most common symptom of astigmatism is blurred or double vision. Children often don’t recognize these symptoms because they don’t really know that they have an eye condition. Early astigmatism treatment can significantly reduce distorted vision and other associated problems.
Eye doctors can quickly and easily confirm astigmatism with a vision test. If a doctor finds blurred vision at all distances, they know it is astigmatism. Tests done to measure the cornea for contacts can also find problem areas.
In this section, we will discuss some natural remedies that may help control astigmatism symptoms. It’s important to note that these remedies are not meant to replace professional medical treatment and advice, but rather can be used in conjunction with it.
Vitamins
Astigmatism often comes with other vision problems. Blurry vision up close or far away can mean near or farsightedness. Often prescriptions for eyeglasses will include distance and astigmatism both. But treatment for astigmatism also includes eye vitamins. What you eat has a huge impact on your eye health and overall well-being. Eating right is the key to correcting minor vision problems.
Here Are Some Important Eye Vitamins That Help to Control Astigmatism:
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is excellent for good eye health. Natural sources of vitamin A include dark leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, carrots, and winter squash. Including these vegetables in your regular diet will ensure you’re getting all the vitamins you need for good vision. If you don’t particularly like the taste of spinach and kale, add them to your smoothies! Carrots, added to other vegetables like cabbage and tomatoes make an excellent choice for soups.
Vitamin B
Vitamin B will encourage good vision. Fish like salmon, trout, and catfish are also an excellent source of Vitamin B. Eggs, dairy, poultry, beef, and lamb also make a good addition to your meals. Vegans and vegetarians too can get their source of protein through avocados.
Vitamin C
Does your diet include enough citrus foods? Vitamin C is essential for your overall health and also encourages good vision. While supplements are easily available, it’s best that you eat natural foods that contain Vitamin C. Oranges, lemons, dark leafy vegetables, strawberries, and peppers are all rich in Vitamin C.
Herbal Remedies
Herbal remedies are another potential option for those seeking natural treatments for astigmatism. The effectiveness of herbal treatments for astigmatism has received little scientific study, however some people have reported success in using certain herbs to improve their vision.
Bilberry: This is a popular herb used to treat number of eye disorders. It contains antioxidants called Anthocyanosides, which are believed to help protect the retina and improve vision. It may also help to reduce inflammation and strengthen blood vessels in the eye.
Ginkgo Biloba: This herb is renowned for its ability to enhance blood flow and circulation. It is thought to aid in enhancing blood flow to the eyes, which can enhance eyesight and lessen eye strain. Some studies have shown that Ginkgo Biloba may also help to protect the retina from damage caused by oxidative stress.
Fennel: This herb is a natural source of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant that can help protect the eyes from damage. It also contains other nutrients, including vitamin A and potassium, which are also necessary for supporting eye health.
Turmeric: This herb is known for its anti-inflammatory properties and may help to reduce inflammation in the eye. Some studies have suggested that turmeric may also help to protect the eye from damage caused by oxidative stress.
It is important to note that herbal remedies should not be used as a substitute for medical treatment. Before using any herbal remedies, it is essential to consult with a healthcare professional to ensure that they are safe and appropriate for your individual needs and health status.
Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle changes are one of the most important steps you can take to naturally fix astigmatism. Here are some changes you can make:
Stay hydrated: Staying hydrated and drinking plenty of water are important for maintaining good eye health. They can also help prevent dry eyes, which can make astigmatism symptoms worse.
Exercise regularly: Exercise improves eye muscle strength and increases blood flow to the eyes, which can help prevent and control astigmatism.
Take frequent breaks from digital devices: Long-term use of digital devices like phones, computers, and tablets can exacerbate astigmatism symptoms and strain the eyes. Regular pauses, looking away from the screen, and applying the 20-20-20 rule (20 seconds every 20 minutes at an object 20 feet away) can all help.
Get enough sleep: Sleep is crucial for maintaining overall eye health. Sleeping enough helps in avoiding eye strain and dry eyes, which can worsen astigmatism symptoms.
Manage stress: Eye health might suffer from stress. Deep breathing exercises, yoga, and other stress-reduction methods can be used to control stress and stop the symptoms from getting worse.
By making these lifestyle changes, you can naturally manage and prevent astigmatism from getting worse. However, it’s important to remember that these changes may not completely cure astigmatism, and it’s still important to see an eye doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Limitations of Natural Remedies
There can be certain limitations on the usage of natural treatments for astigmatism. While certain treatments might offer brief remission, they might not be able to fully eradicate astigmatism.
The efficiency of natural therapies may differ from person to person, which is another drawback. One person’s solution might not work for another, and some treatments might even have adverse effects. It’s also crucial to keep in mind that natural treatment may take longer than conventional ones to show benefits.
Additionally, depending entirely on all-natural treatments could put off a correct diagnosis and course of therapy for underlying eye disorders that might be the cause of astigmatism. To ascertain the root of astigmatism and the best course of action for therapy, it is advised that you speak with an eye professional.
Finally, it’s critical to realise that natural therapies shouldn’t be taken in place of routine eye exams and appropriate eye care. Maintaining good eye health requires adopting healthy lifestyle practises, visiting an eye doctor frequently, and adhering to their advised treatment plan. For severe cases of astigmatism, your doctor will recommend other methods to treat astigmatism to regain your distorted vision after conducting a test.
Common Astigmatism Correction Methods
Eyeglasses or Contact Lenses
The most common way to treat astigmatism is by recommending corrective lenses. Your doctor will prescribe a particular pair of soft lenses called toric. These contact lenses help to bend more light in a specific direction than the other. In more severe cases, you may require a gas-permeable rigid contact lens. Astigmatism treatment also includes the use of eyeglasses to treat vision problems.
Early Intervention
Remember that both children and adults are susceptible to the symptoms of astigmatism. And it’s important that you and your little one visit the doctor’s office for an annual eye exam to determine potential eye conditions. A delay in astigmatism correction can lead to frequent headaches, lethargy, and fatigue. For kids, it can also hinder their learning ability at school. Kids who are passionate about co-curricular activities may also lose out on great opportunities if they have poor vision. Adults, on the other hand, may not be able to sit in front of the screen for long hours.
If you or a family member is facing vision problems to a certain degree, it’s important that you seek treatment immediately. Book an appointment with Insight Vision Center today for comprehensive eye care.
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
Most people have some degree of astigmatism and yet there are so many people who are still confused and may miss out on signs of astigmatism. Here are some common facts about astigmatism and the symptoms you should look out for and the steps you can take to treat them.
Facts about Astigmatism:
Irregularly-shaped Cornea
Astigmatism is caused by an irregularly-shaped cornea which makes it look more like a football than a normal spherical-shape structure. A cornea with a rounder shape controls the amount of light that enters, allowing you to see things around you clearly. An irregularly-shaped cornea prevents an even distribution of light, resulting in blurred vision.
Genetic Component
An irregularly-shaped cornea is a genetic trait, just like the color of your eyes that may have passed from one generation to the next. So, if you start experiencing blurry vision over time, it may be unquestionably out of your control.
Untreated Astigmatism Astigmatism symptoms should be caught early, especially in children. If overlooked, it can result in more serious and permanent conditions like amblyopia, commonly known lazy eye. Regular eye exams should be an essential part of your child’s growing years to avoid further complications.
Astigmatism affects Depth Perception
The ability to see in three dimensions and judge the distance of an object is called depth perception. Eye conditions like astigmatism make depth perception issues more prominent. This makes it difficult to determine the proximity of certain objects or the distance between two objects. Astigmatism blurs the edges and outlines of things you see. So even if your depth perception is not affected, the overall quality of your vision may be poor nonetheless.
More than One Category of Astigmatism
Astigmatism has more than one category. An irregular-shaped cornea is called corneal astigmatism. While the shape of the lens being distorted is known as lenticular astigmatism. Both result in distorted vision when looking at objects near and far.
LASIK surgery Lasik surgery can permanently reshape the cornea, guiding it to a rounder shape that helps you see clearly. Expect a sharper than ever vision without having to deal with corrective lenses.
High Blood Sugar Levels
High blood sugar levels can affect the shape of the lens that is responsible for the focusing power of the eye. Eye problems are collectively referred to as diabetic eye disease. It commonly includes diabetic retinopathy, where the tiny blood vessels in the retina are damaged, but may also include cataracts and glaucoma.
Vigorous rubbing of the eyes
Constantly rubbing your eyes can cause damage to the cornea and eventually result in increased pressure and irregular change in the shape of the eye.
Degrees of Severity
A person with mild astigmatism has < 1.00 dioptre, a person with moderate astigmatism has 1.00 to 2.00 dioptres, a person with severe astigmatism has 2.00 to 3.00 dioptres and a person with extreme astigmatism has > 3.00 dioptres. People with astigmatism may suffer from headaches, tired eyes and experience sensitivity to bright lights. At times, near-sighted people may squint to improve their vision.
If you’re looking for experienced Ophthalmologists in Fresno, book an appointment with us today and allow our helpful clinical staff at Insight Vision Centre to bring back those healthy eyes.
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
Astigmatism is a common eye problem, where the eyeball isn’t perfectly round. It may be slightly football-shaped or look like the back of a spoon instead, which can cause blurry vision. In a normal eye, the cornea and lens work together to focus light rays evenly, ensuring clear vision. However, an irregularly shaped cornea or lens can cause it to bend more in one direction. Since light doesn’t focus on the retina properly, objects may seem blurry, wavy, or out of focus, especially at a distance.
Astigmatism Symptoms
Astigmatism causes distorted or blurred vision to some level at all distances. The person will experience symptoms such as eyestrain, difficulty in viewing at night due to astigmatism lights, and headaches, especially after reading or doing any visual task for an extended period. Squinting is another symptom that is commonly seen.
What Causes Astigmatism and How Is It Diagnosed?
Astigmatism is a common refractive error that takes place when the surface of the cornea or the inner curve of the eye lens is shaped irregularly or changes over time. This often happens during adulthood, but the exact cause is unknown.
The condition can be inherited and is usually present right from birth. It may increase or decrease as you age, occur after eye surgery, disease, or injury, and even be followed by the development of cataracts. It may also be caused by keratoconus, a condition where the cornea thins and becomes cone-shaped over time.
A comprehensive eye exam is the only way to diagnose astigmatism, but look out for symptoms such as blurriness, distorted vision, difficulty reading, or any changes in vision. Refractive eye errors such as nearsightedness/farsightedness can also occur along with astigmatism, and your eye doctor can conduct a variety of tests to find the problem.
Types of Astigmatism
There are 3 types of Astigmatism:
Myopic Astigmatism– One or both central meridians of the eye are nearsighted. If both the meridians are nearsighted, they are myopic in varying degrees.
Hyperopic Astigmatism– One or both central meridians are far-sighted.
Mixed Astigmatism– One central meridian is nearsighted and the other is farsighted.
Astigmatism can also be categorized as regular and irregular. Regular Astigmatism is when the central meridians are 90 degrees away (vertical to each other). In irregular astigmatism, the central meridians are not vertical to each other. It is either a result of an eye injury that has scarred the cornea or keratoconus, a disease that causes a gradual tapering of the cornea, or the aftermath of eye surgery. Most people have corneal astigmatism, which gives the anterior surface of the eye an oval shape. Additionally, there’s another type of astigmatism called lenticular astigmatism, which occurs due to irregularities in the shape of the eye lens rather than the cornea.
Is Eye Surgery Necessary for Treating Astigmatism?
Depending on the degree of astigmatism and your eye health, your optometrist could suggest various options for vision correction. Surgery isn’t always necessary, but it can help you regain clear vision in severe cases. If you have slight symptoms with no vision issues, natural treatment might turn out to be highly beneficial.
Let’s look at the common methods on how to correct astigmatism:
Corrective Lenses
Eyeglasses and contact lenses can correct vision problems caused by moderate cases of the condition. Single-vision glasses with a cylindrical lens provide additional power in specific parts of the lens for clear vision at all distances, but bifocal or progressive addition lenses may be prescribed if you’re over 40. Your eye doctor may prescribe special soft contact lenses that bend light in the correct direction, but you may need gas-permeable rigid contact lenses if you have severe symptoms. However, both glasses and lenses can be uncomfortable and inconvenient for many people, and neither can correct astigmatism completely.
LASIK Surgery
LASIK or laser in situ keratomileusis is a form of laser eye surgery conducted to remove the underlying flap of the cornea. It corrects vision by refracting or bending light entering the eye and is often preferred over other refractive surgeries since it only removes tissue from the inner layer of the cornea. In the past, LASIK was considered ineffective for correcting astigmatism completely. However, with modern advances in technology and eye refractive surgery methods, this laser-guided treatment can also treat astigmatism as well as other vision problems such as nearsightedness and farsightedness, eliminating the need for glasses or contacts.
Other Options
Astigmatism may also be treated with orthokeratology, or ortho-k, where a series of rigid contact lenses are fitted over the eye to reshape the cornea. You need to wear these retainer lenses for a specified period of time, usually overnight, before removing them. Ortho-k can improve vision in moderate cases, but only if you continue wearing the lenses. If you stop wearing them, your vision can return to its original condition. Other options include photorefractive keratectomy or PRK, a form of eye surgery where tissue is removed from the cornea’s superficial and inner layers.
Today, LASIK is one of the most popular choices for permanent and practically painless vision correction. Of course, the right treatment choice depends upon the degree of astigmatism, health of your retina and cornea, as well as your lifestyle and vision needs. Your eye doctor can help you choose what’s right.
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
