Understanding Astigmatism and its Treatment

Astigmatism, also known as eye stigma, is a common eye condition that afflicts millions of people around the world, and is one of the primary reasons for many to wear corrective lenses or glasses. It happens when the eye is not completely round in shape, causing refraction to happen more in one direction than the other. As a result, only part of the object is given clear focus.

How Astigmatism Affects Your Vision

As a common hereditary condition, astigmatism can manifest while a person is still young. When this happens, he's likely to wear corrective lenses for a very long period or undergo laser surgery for permanent treatment.

What Causes It

As astigmatism can show up as early as childhood, many experts say astigmatism might be hereditary. Children inherit the refractive problems from their parents’ vision. Another known cause is injury or disease that happened to permanently damage the victim’s cornea function. The condition, in this case, is called keratoconus (because it makes the cornea thinner and more cone-shaped).

You Might Have Astigmatism When…

Oftentimes, astigmatism is accompanied by various other vision problems; nearsightedness and farsightedness among them. What separates them, though, is that astigmatism can be typically exhibited early in life through symptoms like eye strain, headaches, and the need to constantly squint. Children may have a difficult time at school with this problem.

Treatments

Doctors typically treat patients with astigmatism via refractive or laser eye surgery. In this procedure, a laser is used to correct your vision by changing the shape of the cornea's surface back to normal.

If you want to know more about astigmatism and have your eyes checked in the process, call up a reputable eye doctor and schedule a checkup. Ask him about the procedures that will work best on you.