Whatisastigmatism?

Astigmatismisaverycommonrefractive(focussing)erroroftheeyeswhichcan
causeblurredvision.Itoccursasaresultofirregularcurvatureonthesurfaceofthe
cornea(cornealastigmatism)orinthelensoftheeyeitself(lenticularastigmatism).

Astigmatismmaycauseblurringofbothdistantandnearobjects.Youcanbeborn
withastigmatismoritmaydevelopasyouage.Astigmatismcanalsooccurin
combinationwitheithernearsightedness(myopia)orfarsightedness(hyperopia).

Astigmatismmaybeexperiencedasunevenblurringbecausetheirregularcurvature
canmakesomepartsofwhatyouviewmoreoutoffocusthanotherparts.Byusing
thediagramsbelow,youcancreateaneffectlikethatofastigmatism.Ifyouare
viewingthediagramsonacomputerscreenmoveyourheadtothesideandlookat
thescreenatanangle(about30)noticethehorizontallinesaremoredistinctorif
youprintthediagramstopaperandwhenyoutiltthetopoftheprintedpageaway
fromyou.Linesrunningacrossthepagewillappearlessdistinctthanlinesrunning
upanddown.

Theblurresultingfromuncorrectedastigmatismcanmakethings(suchasprint)
uncomfortabletolookat,difficulttofocuson,andmaycauseheadaches,tiredness
andpoorconcentration.Youroptometristcanprescribeglassesorcontactlensesto
correctyourastigmatismandprovideyouwithclear,comfortablevision.

WhydoIgettiredeyes?
Ifyouhavetiredeyesyoumayhaveuncorrectedastigmatism.Astigmatismcan
causefatigueifyouareconcentratingonavisualtask(reading,computeruse,
driving,etc.)foralongperiodoftime.Yourfocussingsystemisconstantlyadjusting,
tryingtoachieveasharpimagewhichtheastigmaticeyecannotproducewithout
opticalcorrection.Fatigueorfrontalheadachesmayoccurifyousquintyoureyes
toseemoreclearly,causingthemusclesoftheeyelidsandfacetobecome
uncomfortable.

Whatcanyoudo?

Seeyouroptometristforacomprehensiveeyeexam.Thiswillprovideadiagnosis
forthecauseofanyvisionproblems,includingastigmatism.Ifyoudohave
astigmatismyouroptometristwillprovideprofessionaladviceabouttherangeof
optionstocorrectyourvision.

WhataretheTreatmentOptions?
Correctivelensescounteractthefocussingerrorcausedbyirregularcurvatureofthe
corneaorinternallensoftheeye.Refractivesurgerycanbeusedtoreshapethe
surfaceoftheeye.

Spectacles:Prescriptionglassescorrectbothcornealandlenticular
astigmatismandsmooththefocusacrossyourfieldofview.Dependingon
yourdegreeofastigmatismtheymayneedtobewornallthetimeorjust
whenconcentratingonaspecifictask.Anewspectaclecorrectionfor
astigmatismcanbeuncomfortabletowearforthefirstdayortwobecause
thesharpclearvisionitaffordsmayalsohavesomedistortion.Forinstancea
roundplatemightappearovaloraflattablemightseembowed.Most
peoplequicklyadapttothis,butinsomecasestheopticalprescriptionmay
needtobemodifiedtoachieveaparticularbalancebetweenclarityand
visualcomfort.Youroptometristwillbeabletodiscussthiswithyouaspart
ofevaluatingtreatmentoptionsbestsuitedtoyourastigmatism.

ContactLenses:Awiderangeoflenstechnologiesisavailableinbothhard
(rigidgaspermeable)andsoft(usuallydisposable)materials,andincluding
optionsforextendedwear.Askyouroptometristwhichoneswillbebestfor
youincorrectingyourastigmatism.

RefractiveSurgery:Refractivesurgerycanpermanentlyreshapethesurface
ofyoureyeusingmethodssuchasLASIK,PRK,andLASEK.Askyour
optometristformoreinformation;heorshewillbeabletoassistwithan
assessmentandreferralifappropriate.

RegularEyeExams:TheNZAssociationofOptometristsrecommendsa
regulareyeexaminationevery25yearsforhealthyadults.Afterage65
morefrequentexamsarenecessarytoensureearlydiagnosisandtreatment
ofsightthreateningconditionssuchasglaucomaandagerelatedmacular
degeneration(ARMD).