Causes of Astigmatism

If you need vision correction, there’s a pretty good chance that you may be one of those people who have been diagnosed with astigmatism. Many people have had a diagnosis of astigmatism by their doctor, but may have no idea what that really means. If you are someone with astigmatism, a simple understanding of astigmatism – what it is, and what causes it – can help you understand what your diagnosis means, and what types of correction are needed to help you have normal vision.

What is astigmatism?

Astigmatism is a condition where light passing into your eye focuses on more than one place on your retina, causing you to either have blurred vision, or double vision. In a normal eye without astigmatism, light usually focuses on one place on the retina.

What causes astigmatism?

Astigmatism is caused by having a cornea with an irregular shape. Your cornea is the clear outer surface on the front of your eye and it acts like a lens, helping your eye to focus. Therefore, when your cornea is not shaped properly, the result is the incorrect focusing of light on the retina. It’s a fairly common condition. Most people with astigmatism have it from birth, and it becomes more noticeable as their eyes develop over time. It’s usually most noticeable to adults in their middle ages, at which time it usually levels off and stays fairly constant thereafter. Astigmatism can also be caused by stress, too much close-up eye work, and using your eyes too often in low light; it can also be caused by eye damage or disease.

What are the symptoms?

Astigmatism manifests itself in blurred vision or double vision, and sometimes can cause headaches, fatigue or eye strain.

How is astigmatism corrected?

Most minor astigmatism is simply corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Contact lenses used to be unavailable to persons with astigmatism, until toric contact lenses were invented which correct astigmatism by floating in a constant position on the eye to match the irregularity of the cornea. For more permanent results, astigmatism can also be corrected with traditional surgery or laser surgery on the cornea.

With an understanding of these various aspects of astigmatism, you can better understand your diagnosis and discuss it intelligently with your doctor. You can also have the peace of mind of knowing that astigmatism is a very common condition, and is usually simply corrected with glasses or toric contact lenses. Of course, you will want to discuss further with your doctor if you want to think about possible surgery to correct your astigmatism, to make sure you understand the related possible complications or side effects. With your knowledge about the causes and correction of astigmatism, you can rest assured that you will have the ability to make a better-informed decision about the treatment that may be best for you.