Astigmatism

What is astigmatism ?

Astigmatism is a vision disorder related to abnormal curvature of the cornea.

Astigmatism results in blurred vision and imprecise, regardless of the distance at which the object is viewed. Thus, it is difficult to distinguish certain signs or similar forms, such as H and N or 8 and 0.

Astigmatic: you distinguish certain forms of evil near and far

Astigmatism is the result of an abnormal curvature of your cornea in charge of the light rays converge toward the center of your eye. Instead of being round like a football, it is slightly oval like a rugby ball. Sometimes the lens, so both sides of lens, which allows more or less bulging to a development of the image, which is distorted.
The result is that the image of an object is distorted when it passes through your eye. It is therefore distorted projected on the retina, the part of the eye that interprets the image, which in turn transmits the deformed brain.

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The curvature of your cornea is abnormal or your lens too rounded. The image of the pen is distorted on the retina. The pen is blurred or distorted

Continuing with the example of the rugby ball: If the long axis of the ball is horizontal, your astigmatism is then said to "direct" if the major axis of the ball is vertical, your astigmatism is "inverse" and is "oblique "If this axis is oblique.
The image received by the retina is different along the axes of the ball, the resulting image is distorted, fuzzy.

In addition, your astigmatism can be coupled with myopia or hyperopia in one.

Astigmatism is hereditary ?

Astigmatism is usually genetic. In this case, it is present from birth and changes little in life.

You can also have acquired during your life, for example following surgery (cataract surgery, corneal transplantation) or as a result of infection, herpes or some other diseases.

How to evaluate my astigmatism?

When astigmatism is congenital, it varies up to 4 years and then stabilizes. The wearing regular glasses will not remove the astigmatism, but it will have a good vision with correction.

 

How will change my astigmatism ?

It is possible to evaluate the importance of your blurred vision in both assessing your visual acuity and determining the correction needed to return to normal vision.

The correction of your astigmatism is established with glasses test

The degree of correction needed is expressed in diopters, and your sharpness in tenths.
Your astigmatism is low between 0 and 1 diopter, using 1 to 2 diopters, and high above 2 diopters.

 

How can you correct my astigmatism ?

As an astigmatism changed little in life, if it is low, it does not require correction.

However, if it is strong and if it causes visual disturbances, it should be corrected.

The correction may be made ​​by wearing glasses, contact lenses, even for the most severe cases, an operation that changes the shape of the cornea.

If you notice your astigmatism is getting worse quickly, you should consult your ophthalmologist immediately. Also, if you are a parent of a child astigmatism, know that this vision problem can affect school performance. It is important to regularly to see a specialist.