Guess what? You probably have astigmatism and do not even know it. So many patients come into our office and just about fall off the exam chair when I tell them that they have astigmatism. When and if you ever here your optometrist tell you that you have a diagnosis of astigmatism, please do not lose one minute of sleep. You cannot go blind from this diagnosis.
Put simply, a diagnosis of astigmatism means that your eye is not perfectly round. P.S....very few people have a perfectly round eyeball. Astigmatism is easily corrected with glasses as part of your glasses prescription. You do not need to buy a special pair of glasses in order to see clearly with your new prescription. It is important to realize that adjusting to a new prescription can take up to two weeks, especially if there has been a change in your astigmatism correction. So, be patient and wear your glasses. Your vision will become clearer and clearer as you become more comfortable with your new prescription. It is also important to note that if you have a fair amount of astigmatism, you may need special contact lenses called toric lenses in order to give you clear vision. These lenses can be slightly more expensive and can take a little more time to settle in the eye. Hang in there and let the contacts work their magic.
As a side note, in rare cases astigmatism can be a problem when the amount of astigmatism is super high and is accompanied with misshaped cornea. If the cornea is extremely irregularly curved and thinning as it is in some conditions such as keratoconus and pellucid marginal degeneration, addition testing and special treatment may be required. Don't you worry though, evaluating for these conditions is easy and painless and requires a simple scan of the front part of your eye.
One of the most common statements that I hear when I tell my patients that they have astigmatism is, "Why didn't the last doctor tell me that." If you are wondering why you never heard about your astigmatism from your last doctor, it is probably because it is really no big deal. I know that sounds terrible, but it is the truth. If it is no big deal to the doctor, they don't feel the need to tell you about their findings. If you had cataracts, dry eye, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and a little astigmatism, I would spend my time talking about everything except astigmatism.
I hope this puts you at ease around the obscure diagnosis of astigmatism. If you are curious about whether or not you have astigmatism, please feel free to set up an appointment by following the link to one or our Caruso Eye Care locations or call 561-649-9898.