The condition tends to run in families, and children with myopia or hyperopia are at higher risk of astigmatism. Smoking during pregnancy may increase the chance that a child will have astigmatism.
Astigmatism is usually hereditary, which means it's a condition biological parents pass down to their children. It can also be caused by your eyelids putting too much pressure on your cornea. Astigmatism usually isn't caused by health conditions.
In an astigmatic eye, the cornea or lens of the eye is somewhat misshapen, causing light to focus unevenly on the retina. This results in blurred or distorted vision. Astigmatism has a genetic component, so if your mother has it, you may be at a higher risk for it.
Findings. In this population-based cross-sectional study that included 5708 children and 11 416 parents, among other reported biological, environmental, and sociodemographic factors, parental astigmatism was shown to be the most important factor associated with risk of child astigmatism.
Some people are born with astigmatism, but many people develop it as children or young adults. Some people may also develop astigmatism after an eye injury or an eye surgery.
Astigmatism is often present at birth but it can also develop over time, and most often occurs with myopia (nearsightedness) or hyperopia (farsightedness). The rate of astigmatism significantly increases from 14.3% in the under 15-year-old age group to 67.2% in the age group of over 65-years old.
Most cases of astigmatism are hereditary and appear at birth. For some people, the condition can develop later in life.
Astigmatism isn't caused or made worse by reading in poor light, sitting too close to the television or squinting.
Astigmatism frequently worsens with age. Your cornea can become more irregular due to pressure from your eyelids as they lose muscle tone. Astigmatism generally stays stable until your turn 50. After then, your lens curvature progressively worsens each decade.
Astigmatism does not always require the use of glasses. A person can have slight astigmatism and still see clearly. Similar to the rest of the body, the eyes change over time, so regular eye checks with your local optometrist are of importance.
Family history — It is suspected that astigmatism is hereditary, which means the trait is passed down to the baby from their parents, grandparents, etc. Myopia — If another common refractive error, commonly called “nearsightedness,” is present in the child, it can heighten the chances of astigmatism occurring as well.
The prevalence of astigmatism was 20.5% in the autism group, 17.9% in the Asperger syndrome group, 20.3% in the PDD-NOS group, and 21.1% in the group of other disorders.
Prevalence of significant refractive errors, specifically hyperopia, astigmatism, and anisometropia, varied by group, with the highest rate of hyperopia in non-Hispanic whites, and the highest rates of astigmatism and anisometropia in Hispanics.
Astigmatism is common in infants and often clears up on its own by the time a child is one year old. Children with myopia (nearsightedness) or hyperopia (farsightedness) are more likely to have astigmatism. Astigmatism affects Hispanic children at higher rates than other children.
Astigmatism Makes Everything Look Blurry
However, astigmatism causes light to hit multiple focal points in the eye, resulting in blurred vision. Unlike myopia (nearsightedness) or hyperopia (farsightedness), distance does not matter with astigmatism. Nearby objects are just as blurry as objects that are far away.
Basically, objects are seen as blurred or distorted. In a recent study of 2,523 American children ages 5-17 years, more than 28% tested positive for astigmatism.
Wearing glasses can't make astigmatism worse, even if they are the wrong prescription. Astigmatism is caused by the shape of the eye's cornea or lens, and glasses can't change those.
Avoid glare on TV and computer screens. Place your TV or computer screen where lights do not reflect on the screen. Some people find it easier to work on a computer in a dimly lit room.
Astigmatism Treatment. Glasses or contacts can correct almost all cases of astigmatism. But if you have only a slight astigmatism and no other vision problems, you may not need them. If you have a common level of astigmatism, you'll probably have corrective lenses, like glasses or contacts, or surgery.
Stigmatism is a general term used to describe an irregular shape of any of a number of parts of the eye. An astigmatism is also an eye condition, but only affecting the shape of the cornea. Astigmatisms are relatively common and occur whenever the cornea has an irregular curvature.
While astigmatism cannot be cured, glasses and contact lenses can be used to treat the blurry vision that results from having astigmatism. For those wishing for a more permanent solution to blurry vision, refractive surgery is required.
There are three options to correct astigmatism – glasses, contact lenses or laser eye surgery. Prescription glasses or contact lenses can correct astigmatism (along with long-sightedness or short-sightedness, if necessary). Alternatively, laser eye surgery can correct astigmatism and give you clearer vision.
Even a slight degree of astigmatism may lead to headaches, fatigue and reduced concentration. Most astigmatism is caused by the shape of the front surface of the eye (the cornea) or by slight tilting of the lens inside the eye. It may be inherited or a normal variation accompanying growth.
How Is Astigmatism Treated? Most older kids and teens with astigmatism need eyeglasses or contact lenses to help them see clearly. Very young children and kids with mild astigmatism may not need treatment. Sometimes children outgrow astigmatism as they get older.
Can an Astigmatism be Outgrown? In some cases, children can outgrow the need for glasses over time. Children who only have a slight astigmatism, and no farsightedness or nearsightedness often outgrow this condition, and may not need corrective lenses at all.