Eye Care | Astigmatism

Astigmatism is caused by the front surface of the eye (the cornea) being shaped somewhat irregularly. In an eye with no astigmatism, the cornea is shaped perfectly round like a basketball, whereas in an eye with astigmatism, the cornea is shaped more oblong like a football. This causes unequal focusing of different parts of an image, and thus both distant and close objects can be blurry. A mild amount of astigmatism typically accompanies both myopia and hyperopia.Significant astigmatism should be corrected with glasses in children to provide clear vision and/or to help treat amblyopia. Astigmatism is corrected using cylindrical lenses. Like myopia, astigmatism can be greatly eliminated or reduced by refractive surgery such as LASIK, but this is not recommended for any patient under the age of 18.