Astigmatism De-mystified by Carlingford Optometrist

Astigmatism causes unequal blur. Some directions in an image are more out of focus than others. This is in contrast to short and long sightedness where all directions are equally blurry. Sometimes the image may appear distorted, or even doubled. Text is particularly difficulty to read because there are many angles in our writing. Eg if all the vertical lines in text are blurry, it is quite difficult to decipher.

Most astigmatism is caused by the shape of the front surface of the eye (the cornea). One common way of describing it is to imagine that your eye is shaped like a football (AFL, Rugby or American football) rather than an even shape all over like a Basketball.The eye being an uneven shape causes it to focus light unequally resulting in blur.This condition is particularly prone to giving eyestrain and headaches. The headaches are commonly (though not always) at the temples.This condition is treated with glasses or contact lenses.