If you’ve noticed your vision going a little fuzzy, maybe even a little blurry, but you just don’t know why – you may have developed astigmatism and it’s time for a new prescription, as soon as possible! While blurry vision is a symptom for nearly every vision care disease and disorder, it usually happens due to astigmatism. Whether you have problems seeing near or far, you can still develop this annoying disorder and nearly two-thirds of people that suffer from nearsightedness also suffer from astigmatism! Obviously, the first thing you should if your vision is blurry is head to your ophthalmologist or optometrist for a proper eye exam!
Some handy facts about your eye: the surface of your eye should be smooth but, in some cases with astigmatism, your eye may be flat in some areas or steep in others. Given the way your eyes are curved, it may be hard for you to focus properly – which will make it hard for you to have crisp sight. Normally, astigmatism does not get worse with time but your astigmatism can change and adapt. Prescription eyeglasses are usually the easiest, and cheapest, way to correct this condition but the correction will usually be up to your eye doctor. This condition occurs in one of two ways – through your cornea if the area is distorted; or if the lens of the eye is curved, which is called lenticular astigmatism.
Once you go for a simple check up, your ophthalmologist or optometrist can properly diagnose the severity of your astigmatism and advise a proper course of vision correction for you. Your eye care specialist will diagnose astigmatism in one of three ways: through a Keratometer which will test the amount of light reflected from your cornea; a Keratoscope which will determine how the light reflects off the cornea so it can measure the severity of the cornea’s curve; or through a Videokeratoscope, which is a corneal topography instrument that identifies the changes in corneal surface curvature and the severity of the astigmatism.
Since eyeglasses are the easiest way to correct astigmatism, they are the most commonly utilized resource. Here’s the problem: they only correct your astigmatism if you wear them all the time! So, if your doctor instructs you to wear your eyeglasses all the time, you should do so. Failing to wear corrective eye eyeglasses with astigmatism could be dangerous – so listen to your doctor’s advice!
Thankfully, prescription eyeglasses are no longer the ugly accessory they once were. They are now a fashion-forward part of your wardrobe and can be treated as such. Even if you have no need for distance correction, you may still need to wear your eye eyeglasses all the time. Your corrective lenses will be manufactured according to an updated eyeglasses prescription and will help your eyes to adjust as necessary. The light will be able to bounce off your eyes in the correct way, enabling you to see clearly. Having astigmatism issues isn’t such a big deal anymore – with thin lenses and the proper frame, your eyes will be feeling as good as new and like a million dollars!
Hillary Glaser is a social networking specialist and expert in cross-media promotion, currently working on promoting prescription eyeglasses. She is the Director of Marketing and Special Projects for GlassesUSA – the easiest way to buy glasses online, which now offers free shipping on all US orders with the code FreeShip10.