What is Astigmatism?
Regular astigmatism is a very common and natural type of visual imperfection, like nearsightedness or farsightedness, that results in vision being distorted at all distances from having a more oval shaped eye. Uncorrected astigmatism will typically appear like slight double vision, smearing, ghosting, and glare around lights. People who have uncorrected astigmatism will usually tilt their head or squint to see better.
Uncorrected astigmatism showing the streaking of lights, especially in low light conditions.
With uncorrected astigmatism, the vision quality is poor and letters appear hazy with a ghosting effect.
How can you correct astigmatism?
Mild to moderate amounts of regular astigmatism can be corrected for with glasses, soft contact lenses, and ortho-keratology. For higher amounts, custom soft lenses, gas-permeable lenses, hybrid lenses, and scleral lenses can all correct for astigmatism.
What about irregular astigmatism?
Irregular astigmatism, like regular astigmatism, is where the curvature of the surface of the eye is not round. However, unlike regular astigmatism where the uneven curvature is mostly in one direction, with irregular astigmatism it is curved in multiple directions. Causes for irregular astigmatism include most corneal conditions (such as keratoconus, fuch's dystrophy, salzmann's nodular degeneration), corneal scarring, and eye surgery such as a corneal transplant.
Can you correct irregular astigmatism?
With irregular astigmatism, typically a medically necessary contact lens will be the most impactful way to best correct the vision. This includes custom soft lenses, scleral lenses, gas-permeable, and hybrid lenses. Glasses and traditional soft lenses likely will be of minimal benefit but can always be evaluated for in our office.
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A cornea and scleral topography scan showing an irregularly shaped eye with Keratoconus, which induces irregular astigmatism.
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A scleral lens on a tool, ready to be applied to an eye with Keratoconus. Scleral lenses are one of the many contact lens options available to those who have irregular astigmatism..
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This photo shows a hybrid contact lens, which has a rigid material in the center, and a soft skirt on the periphery. Hybrid lenses are another contact lens option available to someone who has irregular astigmatism.
Our office specializes in managing astigmatism with both glasses and contact lenses. If you would like to request an appointment for a consultation on managing astigmatism, click here: