Some knowledge to share on Astigmatism:


Eye astigmatism is a common vision deficiency that is rarely a major concern for the eye patient. Many children, adolescents and adults have this eye condition that can be treated by an optometrist.

Description

Astigmatism refers to curvature of the cornea, which is the front surface of the eye. This part of the eye is naturally curved to aid the eye in focusing on near and distant objects. When the curve of the cornea is irregularly shaped, the result can be out-of-focus vision.

Occurrence
Astigmatism is often congenial; however, this problem with the cornea may develop after an injury to the eye. When astigmatism is present, it causes visual images to focus at two places in the back of the eye instead of the normal one place. This results in blurry vision and eye strain.

Lenticular Astigmatism
A second type of astigmatism, called lenticular astigmatism, can occur in the lens of the eye. In this condition, the shape of the lens varies, resulting in blurry vision. The most common cause of lenticular astigmatism is diabetes, so treatment of the diabetes often is effective in dealing with this kind of astigmatism.

What Causes Astigmatism?

Astigmatism is a condition of the eye that results when the cornea is an odd shape. The cornea should be spherical, but in people who have astigmatism, it is closer to football-shaped. Curvature of the lens portion of the eye also causes astigmatism. Either way, the result is blurry vision when trying to see into the distance, because the light does not focus properly on the retina. Astigmatism usually occurs with either near-sightedness or far-sightedness of the eyes, but it is possible for astigmatism to exist as the only eye condition.

Risk Factors
Many people have a mild astigmatism, since the cornea is rarely completely spherical. Any elongation at all is the definition of astigmatism. Unless it affects vision or causes headaches, it is not necessary to do anything about it. Most people who have more severe forms of astigmatism were born with it. Children may not realize they have blurred vision, unless it is severe, until they go to school and take their first eye test. It is possible to develop astigmatism after an accident involving the eye or after a surgery on the eye. If one notices blurring of vision occurring when attempting to focus on the distance, one may have astigmatism. A simple eye test can determine if this is astigmatism or another ailment of the eye.

Regular and Irregular Astigmatism
Regular astigmatism occurs when the principle meridians in the eye are at right angles to each other. The cornea sends light to the retina from both meridians, instead of from a single source as it does in a normal eye. The result is that the retina does not get one clear picture and the picture looks blurred and out of focus. Irregular astigmatism occurs when the principle meridians in the eye are at any other angles besides right angles. Generally, this condition requires stronger treatment and standard lenses may not fix the condition.

Symptoms of Astigmatism

Vision Problems
Astigmatism changes the way that light is refracted into the eye. This can result in blurred vision at any distance. Objects may seem out of focus or distorted, making it difficult to read or work on the computer. Road signs may be difficult to read from a distance. If you notice any of these symptoms, contact your eye doctor.

Eye Symptoms
In an attempt to compensate for blurred vision, many individuals suffering from an astigmatism may find themselves squinting, especially when reading, using the computer or driving. Prolonged squinting can result in eye strain or irritation, causing eyes to feel overly tired, dry or itchy. Taking frequent breaks from activities that cause eye strain will give your eyes a chance to rest.

Headaches and Tiredness
Blurred vision and the subsequent squinting and eye rubbing that often follow can result in headaches, especially after long periods of of reading, using the computer or other close work. The eye strain and headaches associated with the condition may also result in tiredness. If you have frequent headaches, see your eye doctor for an eye examination.


Treatments for Astigmatism
Corrective lenses are the usual way to correct astigmatism. The doctor will provide a prescription to the patient, which includes grinding the lenses in such a way as to correct near-sightedness, far-sightedness and the astigmatism. Another viable option for astigmatism is contact lenses. Yet another option is laser surgery. In this option, the surgeon will reform the cornea to the correct shape using lasers to cut away the extra portion of the cornea. After a successful surgery, the patient should not have to wear corrective lenses.




I just went to an optical shop today and found out that I have Astigmatism. Although it is not high, about 100? it is recommended that I should wear specs to prevent it from worsen. My job involves alot of computer work. Should I wear specs? Should I wear them all the time? Any advice would be appreciated as this is my first spec...

This post has been edited by blue_winter: Feb 18 2011, 09:34 PM

I guess you need glasses. Just wear them when you're working on the pc and stuff that would require you to focus.

I have astigmatism as well, i wear glasses during lectures because whatever the lecturer writes on the whiteboard seem blur-ish to me.

But, you should consult your optician as well, he would know better

remember to wear when driving at night

Yes yes, that's a must!

My bf has very high astigmatism like 450 or so.
He has heard that people said there is some sort of contact lens to keep the astig power from getting higher or can even make your eyes better or something.

His power is too high so can't do much about it other than laser. Don't even have ready made contacts for him.

i have astig since standard4
and yea u definitely need ur glasses during night driving
even my sun glasses are needed to be custom-made(which mean costly) just bcos of my astig

anyone know how to prevent astigmatism power going up?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astigmatism_(eye)

explained quite well...

Lets say we watch tv or pc in a dark room, will it contribute to astigmatism?

Not sure, the wiki link above didn't explain
----
I want to know as well, cos my Astig power increasing every year.

This post has been edited by jady: Feb 18 2011, 11:45 AM

Why not you go to an ophthalmologist and ask for their advice. I'm sure you can google up about ways to maintain your astig power.

I have just edited my first post to share some information on astigmatism. Hope others can share their experiences on this. I was wondering, how much does your specs normally cost?

i hv astigmatism,175-225 for both eyes..
the specs costs around RM 700++ as my short sightedness is pretty high too.
i am pretty much a blind bat w/o specs.

This post has been edited by vivienne85: Feb 19 2011, 12:20 AM

same here, 300+ on my right and 400+ on my left eye...And for me astig is the only problem...Born with it I guess since my twin has astig as well, but at lower power together with another condition.

No contact lenses And i hate wearing spectacles...I somehow manage without my specs, coz I'm used to to the vision...Only wear my specs when its really bad

mine cost around rm700 as well, cos i choose thinner material.

I tink you should wear specs as without ur specs, ur eyes will be doing more work and more harm or damage will be done to your eyes. Plus, it would cost more if astig power increases...

Hi, there is contact lens for u, even with very high astigmatism.

i have conventional toric lens (yearly lens) for astig upto -6.00 D.

pls pm me if u interested. thanks

Well my specs already costs me a bomb right now Spectacles hurts the side bones of my nose and creates this annoying mark on the sides of my nose But I've been having bad and frequent headaches of late, perhaps due to the excessive straining of my eyes

But is the appearance similar to the normal ones or is it bigger? From what I heard it's usually bigger in size and harder? But seriously, i'll PM you on this

I don't know about pure astig ones but my bf and I just went and had new specs done the other day. He has roughly 200 short sightedness and 400-500 astig, the specs cost about RM400+ including good frames. Just the usual ones la, no special lens this that.

Yea, I think our eye sight problem very much due to our genes also.

There is contacts, like what jialat said.
But then that's YEARLY contacts. Even monthly ones I find them a bit unhygienic edi hence I'm using biweekly myself. Don't even try to convince me to use yearly lenses. Have already enquire about it with my cousin who is an optometrist and it cost about RM300+ if I'm not mistaken.

hi, the conventional toric lens is similar to those normal clear contact lens, diameter is 14mm, same size with normal lens too. its not harder and its suitable for dry eyes wear. if u want smaller or bigger in size, i can order custom made for u too. smallest 13.8mm, biggest up to 14.5mm.

most importantly i am selling way much cheaper than shop, u can ask any shop in malaysia and singapore to compare my price before u confirm the order. thanks