What is astigmatism?
Astigmatism refers to an imperfection in the curve of your eyes that causes blurry distance and up close vision. Astigmatism happens when the front of your eye or lens has misaligned curves.
Generally speaking, the curves in your eyes form a round ball. With astigmatism, these curves turn into an egg-shape. There are three main types of astigmatism:
- Micro astigmatism, when light rays focus in the front of the retina
- Hyperopic astigmatism, when light rays focus in the back of the retina
- Mixed astigmatism, when your vision oscillates between farsighted and nearsighted
The team at Harlem VistaSite Eye Care can help you or your child determine which type of astigmatism is affecting you.
What are the symptoms of astigmatism?
Astigmatism can exhibit any of the following symptoms.
- Discomfort related to eye strain
- Headaches
- Problems sleeping
- Frequent squinting
- Blurred vision
- Distorted vision
Astigmatism might be the reason why some of these symptoms sound familiar.
What causes astigmatism?
The most common cause of astigmatism is a refractive error in the eye that affects your cornea and the lens. If you have 20/20 vision, then both of these sections of your eye have a round shape. With astigmatism, your cornea and your lens are shaped like an egg, which causes the eye to refract light rays.
A team member can tell you if your child has astigmatism early on in their life as a result of a congenital cause. You can also develop astigmatism because of an eye injury, surgery, or disease.
How do you treat astigmatism?
Up until recently, eyeglasses were the only real treatment for astigmatism. However, in recent years, Harlem VistaSite Eye Care has been happy to offer patients toric lenses to correct astigmatism. Toric lenses are soft and weighted, effectually repairing the refracting error in your eye.
The team might also consider LASIK surgery to eliminate the incorrection permanently. During this procedure, your doctor creates a thin flap over your cornea to expose its tissue. From there, they use a state-of-the-art computerized tracking device to reshape the eye tissue.
Find out more about astigmatism and how you can correct its refractive error. Schedule an appointment at Harlem VistaSite Eye Care by phone or online today.
