But if you have astigmatism, the cornea is shaped more like a football, and the light rays entering the eye meet at different points causing blurred vision. At night, or in other low light conditions, the blur gets worse. That's because when the lighting dims, the pupil dilates to let in more light.
Does astigmatism make it hard to drive at night? The oblong shape of eyes with astigmatism distorts light, making you struggle to see when driving at night. “It's pretty common to see halos around lights while driving at night,” says Dr. Bajic.
At night, people with astigmatism can experience the same visual distortions as they might during the day. But because the contrast between light sources and the surrounding darkness is so stark, and because the pupil of the eye is taking in more light at one time, the distortions seem much more pronounced.
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.
Someone with astigmatism has an irregularly shaped cornea instead of a round shape. This football shape prevents light from focusing directly on the retina causing blurry, distorted vision, headaches, and eyestrain. At night you will see starbursts or glare around lights making night driving dangerous.
Will Glasses Help with the Effects of Astigmatism at Night? Yes, prescription glasses will help with astigmatism symptoms that affect your night vision. If you see halos, starburst patterns, or blurriness around lights at night, then wearing glasses should eliminate or dramatically reduce these distortions.
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.
Vision correction options
Eyeglasses, contact lenses, and sometimes LASIK surgery or other types of refractive surgery are used to correct astigmatism.
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.
Either type of astigmatism can cause blurred vision. Blurred vision may occur more in one direction: horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Astigmatism may be present from birth, or it may develop after an eye injury, disease or surgery.
Astigmatism can cause fatigue if you are concentrating on a visual task (reading, computer use, driving, etc.) for a long period of time. Your focussing system is constantly adjusting, trying to achieve a sharp image which the astigmatic eye cannot produce without optical correction.
Blue light blocking lenses
In fact, excessive screen time can even cause digital eye strain, particularly for those with uncorrected astigmatism. Fortunately, blue light blocking lenses can alleviate this discomfort, and make working on your laptop or texting on your phone much more enjoyable.
Add a non-glare coating to your lenses to help astigmatism. Non-glare lenses can help reduce the amount of light entering your eye, helping people with astigmatism see better at night.
Everyone has more trouble seeing at night or under dim lights, but that struggle also could indicate that you need to update your glasses prescription, or that you have another condition. Difficulty seeing at night can be a symptom of a number of common vision problems including cataracts, dry eye and diabetes.
Astigmatism is a common visual impairment for which many veterans may not realize they could collect disability compensation.
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.
Several eye conditions are associated with astigmatism. The most common of these being a corneal thinning eye disease known as keratoconus. As the keratoconus progresses, it can cause astigmatism to get worse.
Circulatory issues caused by stress and tension are as well as causes of astigmatism. In this case, an accumulation of stress and tension in the neck muscles can lead to a restriction of blood flow to the head and eyes.
For most people, laser surgery corrects the astigmatism permanently, which means they are cured of this condition. Laser surgery requires very little time in the operating room and minimal recovery at home. Many people who undergo LASIK return to work a day or two after the procedure.
Those with astigmatism see light differently. Light rays may look streaky or smeared with a high glare, which makes it difficult to focus. Thus, sensitivity to light indicates astigmatism in children's eyes. Take your child to an optometrist for an eye exam if they appear to have light sensitivity.
Astigmatism is very common. 1 in 3 people has astigmatism.
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.
In cases of more significant astigmatism, when not corrected by glasses or contact lenses, symptoms could include: Headaches. Having to squint to see clearly at all distances. Eye strain or tiredness when focusing on prolonged tasks.
If you have severe astigmatism, it might take a week or so. Start by wearing the glasses first thing in the morning, for a few hours at a time, and adjusting slowly.