by Ken Wong
26 August 2019

What is astigmatism?

Astigmatism is a very common vision condition that the causes blurred vision. It might be the most misunderstood vision problem, even the name itself is very difficult to many people, “uh·stig·muh·ti·zm”. Which in malay, it been called as “silau”.

What Causes It?

Astigmatism is a common type of refractive error, which is the eye does not focus light evenly onto the retina, the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. Which means that the front surface of your eye(cornea) or the lens, inside the eyes, has mismatched curves. A normal eyeball is shaped like a perfectly round ball, when the light come into it and the light is bends evenly, which gives you a clear view. But if the eye is shaped like a egg shaped, or a football shape, light bend more direction more than a round shape, this will cause the vision became blurred.

How is It diagnosed?

You need a thorough eye examination, which might also find another problem which is nearsighted or farsighted. Because astigmatism symptoms come on slowly, when you notice there changes on your vision , you might need to have an eye examination.

Can astigmatism be treated?

Astigmatism can usually be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery. People with astigmatism primarily schoose eyeglasses to improve their vision. They eyeglasses contain a special cylindrical lens prescription that compensates for the astigmatism. This provides additional power in specific parts of the lens.

Don’t worry if you have any question about on astigmatism, you can ask here or you can come Truview Optical to have an eyecheck for yourself and your family and friends. We are glad to help you. Thank you