When you make a visit to your eye doctor for an exam to determine the nature of your vision problems, you may end up hearing the word astigmatism. Along with nearsightedness or myopia, and farsightedness or hyperopia, astigmatism is a common diagnosis that requires a prescription for glasses. With farsightedness, a patient has trouble seeing objects that are in close range, while with nearsightedness, objects in the distance are blurred or out of focus. When you have astigmatism, your vision is blurred at any distance, making the need for glasses even more important. Sometimes, people with nearsightedness or farsightedness can compensate, as one type of vision is still good, but with astigmatism that's much more difficult.
Astigmatism occurs when the lens within your eye, or the cornea itself is curved or irregularly shaped. When this happens, the light that enters your eye can't focus on the retina correctly and your vision is blurred. Astigmatism is a common condition that most people have to some degree. Smaller amounts of astigmatism don't always require corrective glasses, but when it starts to affect your vision, glasses are a common remedy. Wearing glasses can help you see items both up close and far away with greater clarity. If you have astigmatism with blurred vision and don't bother getting glasses, you may experience headaches and general eye discomfort in addition to the reduced vision. It isn't uncommon for people to delay making the appointment because they don't want to have to worry about glasses, but it's usually well worth the effort.
Astigmatism is a condition that's usually evident from birth, but can change as time rolls along. As a child grows, the astigmatism may get better or worse, and corrective glasses may be required. The only real way to know if you have astigmatism, or the degree is to make an appointment with your eye doctor. The doctor will measure how your eyes focus light and will figure out the power of the glasses you're going to need to correct the issue. If you have astigmatism, a correctly prescribed pair of glasses can change the way the light enters your eye. Once this change, takes place, you'll be able to see everything clearly.
If you have astigmatism, but really aren't interested in wearing glasses, your doctor may suggest laser surgery as another option. Laser surgery isn't possible for all types of astigmatism, but if it is for yours, the shape of your cornea will be changed to correct the problem. Small amounts of tissue are removed with the laser and your vision issue is corrected.
For those where surgery isn't possible, glasses will make the correction. Astigmatism isn't a horribly serious eye condition, but definitely one you'll want to take seriously and get treatment for. Not being able to read the newspaper clearly may not be life threatening, but if you can't read street signs clearly, you may end up in more serious trouble. It's always a good idea to make an appointment with an eye doctor as soon and you notice any type of vision loss.
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