What is Astigmatism?
“What is a stigmatism?” is a question that eye doctors hear every day, but actually it's spelled “astigmatism.” Although astigmatism is the most common vision problem, most people don't know what it is.
Astigmatism may accompany farsightedness or nearsightedness. Usually it is caused by an irregularly shaped cornea (called corneal astigmatism). But sometimes lenticular astigmatism results from an irregularly shaped lens, which is located behind the cornea.
Either kind of astigmatism can usually be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses, or refractive surgery.
Astigmatism Symptoms and Signs
You may not notice small amounts of astigmatism at all or have just slightly blurred vision. But sometimes uncorrected astigmatism can give you headaches or eye strain, and distort or blur your vision at all distances. Because not only adults can be astigmatic, you need to make sure you schedule an eye exam for your child.
Dr. Karla Zadnik, an optometrist at The Ohio State University School of Optometry, found in a recent study of 2,523 children that more than 28 percent of them had astigmatism. Children may be even more unaware of the condition than adults, and they are unlikely to complain about blurred or distorted vision.
What Causes Astigmatism?
Astigmatism occurs when the cornea is shaped more like an oblong football than a spherical baseball. In most astigmatic eyes, the oblong or oval shape causes light rays to focus on two points in the back of your eye, rather than on just one. This is because, like a footballs, an astigmatic cornea has a steeper curve and a flatter one. Many people are born with an oblong cornea, and the resulting vision problem may get worse over time. But astigmatism may also result from an eye injury that has caused scarring on the cornea.
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