Astigmatism

Astigmatism is a vision problem which 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. Schedule an eye care appointment with an optometrist to determine the amount and type of vision correction needed.

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 regularly schedule eye care exams with an optometrist for your child. Astigmatism can affect a child’s ability to see well in school and during sports, which is why it’s important that eye care exams be scheduled with an optometrist at regular intervals to detect any astigmatism early on.

Regular astigmatism can be corrected with spectacles or soft contact lenses while irregular astigmatism can only be corrected with hard contact lenses. Early professional eye care by a certified optometrist can help address this vision problem before it negatively affects school performance or other areas of life.