What Is Astigmatism?
People who suffer from astigmatism have corneas whose surface is elongated, much like a rugby ball (oval shape), compared to another person whose corneas are perfectly spherical, like a ping pong ball. This inequality in the corneas’ curvature creates a situation in which vision is distorted.
Result: The image lacks sharpness. Light rays focus mainly on two different points, one behind and one in front of the retina. Consequently, vision is blurred, no matter how far or near the object observed is.
The degree of astigmatism is expressed in positive or negative diopters along a given axis. But be careful: Astigmatism can have no symptoms. People affected by low astigmatism can have good vision, but often squint, which can cause headaches, symptoms of ocular fatigue, and vision that is sometimes blurred.
It’s also important to detect strong astigmatism in young children so that it can be corrected as early as possible. If not, amblyopia (a reduction in the ability of one or both eyes to discriminate) can occur because vision in astigmatics is blurred at any distance and cannot develop.
