Ophthalmological diseases

What is astigmatism?

Astigmatism is an alteration in the curvature of the cornea or crystalline lens that changes the eye’s refractive power. Instead of concentrating light rays at a focal point on the retina, astigmatic eyes concentrate light at different focal points on it. This means that the vision of both near and distant objects appears distorted and blurred. Astigmatism may be accompanied by other refractive problems such as myopia or hyperopia.
Astigmatism is a markedly hereditary condition, although it can also result from eye surgery, injury, ulcers and intraocular lens dislocation.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms associated with astigmatism are:

• Blurred or distorted vision
• Tired eyes or discomfort
• Headache
• Squinting and straining the eyes often

Treatment

The main methods of treatment for astigmatism are:

• Wearing glasses or contact lenses.
• Refractive laser eye surgery (LASIK, PRK and SMILE are the most frequently used techniques due to their safety and efficacy).
• Intraocular lenses implants. In some cases, other surgical techniques such as toric, phakic (preserving the lens) or pseudophakic (after removal of the lens or cataract) intraocular lens implants may be chosen.