Astigmatism

“Astigmatism” is the medical term that means your eye is oval-shaped. It’s a type of refractive error. These are very common eye issues that cause blurred vision.

Usually, eyes are round, like a baseball. If you have astigmatism, your eye is shaped like a football or the back of a spoon. This makes light that enters your eyes focus as two lines instead of a single point. That uneven focus makes your vision blurry.

Many people are born with it. But it can develop at any point in life, including as an adult.

Visit an eye doctor if you notice any changes in your eyes or vision.

Astigmatism symptoms

Blurry vision is the most common astigmatism symptom. Your vision will be blurry at all distances. It also makes it hard to see details on objects, like the words printed on a menu in front of you, or the letters on a road sign in the distance. You might have double vision that makes it look like images are overlapping.

Other astigmatism symptoms include:

• Seeing a glare, halos or star-like patterns around lights
• Squinting to see clearly
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Eye strain

Young children might not know there’s anything wrong with their vision. Visit an eye doctor if you notice your child squinting, rubbing their eyes or having frequent headaches.

Causes of astigmatism

Astigmatism is usually caused by your cornea having an oval or irregular shape. Eye doctors call this corneal astigmatism.

You can also have lenticular astigmatism. This is when the lens in your eye is an oval, irregular shape.

It’s much less common, but other health conditions or issues can cause astigmatism, including:

• Your eyelids putting too much pressure on your eyes
• Eye injuries
• Conditions like keratoconus or lenticonus
• Complications after eye surgery
• Styes

How doctors diagnose astigmatism

An eye doctor will diagnose astigmatism with an eye exam. They’ll look at your eyes, check inside them and test your vision.

Your eye doctor might use a refraction test to measure how much your eyes focus and bend light.

Astigmatism treatments

Most people with astigmatism need corrective lenses. Your eye doctor will recommend glasses or contact lenses to help you see clearly.

You might not need corrective lenses if the astigmatism is so mild that it doesn’t affect your vision. Your eye care provider will measure changes in your eyes during future eye exams. Astigmatism can change and get worse over time. So, you might need glasses or contacts eventually, even if you don’t right away.

Can astigmatism be corrected?

Wearing glasses or soft contacts will make your vision clear. But they won’t change the shape of your eye. Vision correction surgeries like LASIK and PRK use lasers to correct vision problems. An ophthalmologist can change the shape of your cornea or lens to correct moderate astigmatism.

Your eye care provider might also suggest orthokeratology. This is wearing a special kind of hard contact lenses that can change the shape of your eyes.

If you have cataracts and astigmatism, you may be able to get them treated at the same time during cataract surgery.

When should I see my healthcare provider?

Visit an eye doctor as soon as you notice any changes in your eyes, especially if your vision gets blurry or noticeably worse. Astigmatism symptoms are usually very noticeable at night, when it’s raining or when you look at lights.

What can I expect if I have astigmatism?

Astigmatism is usually very easy to manage. You’ll probably need to wear glasses or contacts if you don’t have vision correction surgery. But having astigmatism won’t hurt your eyes or increase your risk of any complications.

Most people who have vision correction surgery have permanently improved vision. Some people need an enhancement procedure as they get older. This is a follow-up surgery to correct natural changes in your eyes that happen as you age.