What is Astigmatism?

Astigmatism is a focusing error which causes asymmetric blur. Some directions in an image are more out of focus than others. This can be contrasted with short-sightedness (Myopia) where all directions are uniformly blurred.

What does it look like?

Astigmatism causes different amounts of blur in different directions. This causes images to appear distorted, or sometimes even double. Certain letters may be more difficult to read than others, depending on the orientation of the lines within them.

One type of chart used to detect Astigmatism uses a series of lines arranged in a fan shape – if you have Astigmatism, some lines will appear clearer than others.

If you don’t have Astigmatism (or it is corrected), you can see what it is like by looking at the chart while squinting your eyes. When you do this, the pressure from your eyelids distorts your corneas, causing some temporary Astigmatism. When you open your eyes again, your cornea returns to its normal shape.

What causes Astigmatism?

Most Astigmatism is caused by the shape of the front surface of the eye (the cornea).  It can also be caused by slight tilting of the lens inside the eye. It may be an inherited characteristic or a normal variation accompanying growth.

Can you describe the shape?

A magnifying glass focuses the sun to a point image because its two surfaces are spherical, each like the surface of a basketball. Now imagine a transparent surface shaped like the side of an Australian Rules or rugby football. It has two different curvatures. These result in light focusing at two different locations. The image does not focus to a point and so is blurred.

How does Astigmatism affect me?

Objects at all distances are indistinct or blurred and the eye cannot focus. Even slight degrees may encourage headaches, fatigue and reduce concentration. This is because the eyes may try, without success, to correct the blur, and because there is a tendency to screw up the eyes to try to see better, producing discomfort in the muscles of the eyelid and face. How is Astigmatism corrected?

Spectacles and contact lenses (hard and soft) can correct Astigmatism. Sometimes correction of Astigmatism can cause change in the apparent size and shape of objects and may affect judgement of distance. A patient may feel taller or shorter, or walls may appear to slope and floors curve.

In most cases, adjustment to these side effects takes only a week or so. Astigmatism correction may involve a compromise between optimal clarity and visual discomfort.

How is Astigmatism detected?

Some people notice blur themselves. Only a proper eye examination will determine for certain if you have Astigmatism. Astigmatism is not an eye disease and any changes are generally gradual and not necessarily for the worse. Most people have at least very slight Astigmatism.