An online test may give you an idea of whether you have astigmatism, but you should see a professional in person to assess its severity and get a prescription to correct it.
Astigmatism is diagnosed with an eye exam. A complete eye exam involves both a series of tests to check eye health and a refraction, which determines how the eyes bend light. Your eye doctor may use various instruments, aim bright lights directly at your eyes and ask you to look through several lenses.
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.
People with astigmatism may experience mild to severe distorted vision, depending on the degree of astigmatism. While myopia (nearsightedness) makes far-away objects blurry and hyperopia (farsightedness) makes close-up objects blurry, astigmatism makes things blurry at every distance.
A doctor of optometry can diagnose astigmatism through a comprehensive eye examination. Testing for astigmatism measures how the eyes focus light and determine the power of any optical lenses needed to improve vision.
Astigmatism is caused by a cornea or lens that has a different shape than normal. Astigmatism is very common. Doctors don't know why the shape of the cornea or lens varies from person to person. But they do know the risk of getting astigmatism is inherited (passed down from parents).
If left untreated, astigmatism may cause eyestrain, headaches, and blurry vision. If you have astigmatism you may not see objects in the distance or near without some form of distortion.
Can Glasses Help Astigmatism? Yes, glasses can correct astigmatism and dramatically clarify your eyesight. Glasses for astigmatism are fitted with corrective cylindrical lenses that help to properly refract light onto the retina of the eye.
One natural way to treat astigmatism is to be aware of your head tilting. If you're tilting to one side, try tilting your head in the opposite direction of what feels most comfortable. It will feel uncomfortable at first. Your muscles are used to doing the wrong thing and need retraining.
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.
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.
You can have 20/20 vision and still have astigmatism. Unlike presbyopia that makes focusing on close objects difficult or impossible or myopia that makes focusing on distant objects difficult or impossible, astigmatism gives you sometimes clear vision and sometimes blurry vision at all distances.
Some of the effects of astigmatism at night include: Blurred or fuzzy vision. Light halos surrounding traffic lights. Starburst effects on lights.
People who have about 1.5 or more diopters of astigmatism usually opt to have corrective treatment such as glasses, contacts, or 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.
Why is that? Answer: Some call this "second sight" which has a simple physiological explanation. As the lens of the eye hardens as we age (the predecessor of frank cataracts) it changes the way light is "bent" as it enters the eye much the way different prescriptions in a pair of glasses do.
You have corneal astigmatism if your cornea has mismatched curves. You have lenticular astigmatism if your lens has mismatched curves. Either type of astigmatism can cause blurred vision.
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. Special non-glare screens that fit over the computer screen also may help.
Many people believe that astigmatism is only can be corrected by medical intervention when it can easily be alleviated and even corrected through eye training exercises. In fact, there have been cases where with the right exercises in the right frequency yielded considerable results in just one day!
Astigmatism is thought to be hereditary, so if you have astigmatism, chances are good your children will have it also. The condition often occurs with other vision conditions such as nearsightedness (myopia).