Astigmatism Correction

Astigmatism is a common disorder that affects the vision of the eyes. In normal conditions, the cornea is spherical in shape. The main function of the cornea is to bend the light rays it receives and focus them at one point on the retina at the back of the eye. Thus it gives us a distinct vision and enables us to see things clearly. In astigmatic eyes, the cornea is somewhat oblong or oval in shape. As a result, it fails to bend the light on one single point and it is focused on two different points. For this reason, the vision get distorted. The main aim of astigmatism correction is to rectify this abnormal bending of light.

Causes and Symptoms

Astigmatism can affect people of any age group including small children. The exact cause behind irregular shape of the cornea that leads to astigmatism is not clearly known. Some people are born with it and in others it may develop at a later stage in life. In most cases, it has been found to be hereditary. However, injury to the eyes, eye surgery and a disease named keratoconus that leads to thinning of the cornea can also be responsible for this eye condition.

The most common symptom is blurred vision. Usually, in the initial stage, one may get blurred vision while looking at distant objects only. Later on, as it turns more severe, one gets blurry images of objects nearby as well. This causes eye strain, headache, squinting and discomfort and irritation in the eyes.

Treatment

Astigmatism correction is possible with three different ways. They are: eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery. It largely depends on the severity of the condition. The severity is first measured with the help of a series of eye tests and examinations. Then the next course of treatment is ascertained.

When the degree of astigmatism is mild to moderate, it can be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses. The prescription for astigmatic lens has three different parts. The first part shows the power needed to improve the visual sharpness, the second part indicates the magnitude of astigmatism and the third part gives the degree of the axis of the cylinder needed to correct the refractive error.

There are special contact lenses for astigmatism correction which are known as toric lenses. They are available in the form of soft as well as hard contact lenses. In most cases, soft toric lenses are used but in severe forms of astigmatism, rigid lenses are recommended by eye care practitioners.

Eye care professionals often suggest eye exercises for correcting astigmatism in children. In one such exercise, the eye which is less affected by astigmatism is covered up with the help of a patch. This compels the worst affected eye to work harder and thus its vision is strengthened.

Surgery is often performed to cure the problem permanently. Basically, there are three different types of laser eye surgery for astigmatism. LASIK (or Laser Assisted In situ Keratomileusis) is the most popular among them. It modifies the refractive power of the cornea and restores its focus at one single point. LASEK (or Laser-assisted subepithelial keratomileusis) and photorefractive keratectomy (or PRK) are the two other forms of laser surgery for astigmatism.

The methods of astigmatism correction largely depend on the needs and lifestyle of every individual patient. The eye care specialists discuss the options of treatment with the patients and provide them with adequate information on the kind of results they can expect from these treatments. After that, the decision on the procedure to be implemented for vision correction is finalized.