Astigmatism

What is Astigmatism?

Astigmatism is a refractive error / vision issue where the cornea (the clear window at the front of your eye) is more rugby ball shaped rather than rounded. This creates blurred vision, distortion, double images or shadowed vision at all distances.

Occasionally patients can have astigmatism with no other sight problems, however it is most commonly paired with short sightedness (myopia) or long sightedness (hyperopia). When it's combined with these additional refractive errors, the blur and distortion that the patient sees increases.

If a patient suffers from significant astigmatism (usually anything more than 0.5 of a dioptre), corrective lenses, usually glasses, are required. 'Toric' contact lenses are available for this condition but are not well tolerated by some patients due to the lens rotating on the cornea. This leads to further blurred vision.

The good news is that astigmatism is easily corrected by laser eye surgery. LASIK is the most common treatment for astigmatism.