Astigmatism – Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

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Astigmatism is a refractive eye disorder which causes blurred vision. It is a fairly common eye problem can be corrected quite easily by using lenses or glasses or getting surgery. Normally, a person’s cornea is perfectly spherical in shape. When light enters the cornea, it is refracted equally in all directions and a focused image is formed on the retina. But when a person suffers from astigmatism, the shape of the cornea is distorted and so, a sharp focused image cannot be formed. This results in hazy and blurred vision.

Causes of Astigmatism

In majority of cases, this disorder is hereditary i.e. it is passed on from one generation to the other. Besides that, it is also common in people who spend a lot of time working in the front of the computer or who sue their eyes for activities like embroidery which require constant precision. Additionally, incorrect posture can also result in increased pressure on the cornea, which would eventually distort its curvature.

Symptoms of Astigmatism

So, how do you know if you are actually suffering from this eye disorder? The most obvious symptom is obviously blurred and hazy vision. However, blurred vision is a common symptom for many other eye disorders. But if you are indeed suffering from astigmatism, the objects will remain blurred even when viewed from very close distances.

Other symptoms of astigmatism include constant headache, fatigue, dizziness, eye strain and the inability to concentrate on a particular object. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you must visit your ophthalmologist who will be able to diagnose the exact cause of these symptoms after running a few tests.

Treatment of Astigmatism

The treatment for this eye disorder depends on just how bad it is. In most cases, the degree of astigmatism is quite mild and can be treated easily with corrective lenses. There are specific kinds of lenses for treating astigmatism called toric lenses. Your optometrist will decide the ideal kind of toric lenses for you after running some basic tests.

In case of high degrees of astigmatism, you can also consider refractive surgery. This surgery corrects the curvature and shape or your cornea making as perfectly spherical. Once this is achieved, the images formed will be sharp and focused as light rays will refract properly inside the eye.

As technology has advanced, various other forms of surgeries and corrective measures have emerged. In case you are suffering from astigmatism or are experiencing any of its symptoms, you should definitely visit your optometrist and discuss the issue with him.

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Source by Benjamin M. Thomas

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