Astigmatism seems to be one of those eye conditions (one of the most common actually) where you have been told you have it…but if you are anything like me, you have no idea what that means! So I am here to explain for anyone who may be wondering.

Astigmatism is a condition in which the cornea has an unusual shape. Shaped more like a football, as appose to a spherical baseball (the regular shape). This unusual shape causes blurred vision or even eye headaches from the strain of trying to focus. This condition can also cause an inability to see and focus on fine details of objects.

There are two different types of astigmatism. Regular- which is mainly within the cornea or crystallized lens (usually not resulting from injuries). Irregular- which can usually caused by corneal scarring and can be more difficult to correct with glasses.

Usually regular astigmatism is hereditary and depending on the severity, can be treated with glasses, lenses or refractive surgery. Traditionally only hard contact lenses where the choice of patients with this condition, however more and more patients are now using soft toric lenses to correct their astigmatism. These types of lenses have special corrections within allowing you to also have a prescription for myopia or hyperopia if needed.

Categories: Considering LASIK, General Vision, Vision Prescriptions

Tags: astigmatism, contact lenses, hyperopia, LASIK, myopia, toric lenses