Astigmatism

If you notice halos around lights at night or have blurry vision that gets better when you squint your eyes, you may have astigmatism. This common refractive error is easily treated with glasses or contact lenses; however, it first requires a diagnosis and a vision exam. At Eye-Site in Boynton Beach, FL, we provide comprehensive eye exams to accurately diagnose astigmatism and offer prompt treatment that can help you see clearly.

What Is Astigmatism?

Astigmatism occurs when the cornea isn’t perfectly round. Rather, it has more of an oblong or a football shape, causing light rays to focus on different areas of the retina.

How Does Astigmatism Affect Your Vision?

People with astigmatism often have blurry vision that becomes worse at night. Not only that, but you may have difficulty driving at night due to glare or halos from headlights and streetlamps. Unlike nearsightedness and farsightedness, which cause objects that are close or far away to appear blurry, astigmatism can cause blurry vision at all distances.

Treatment for Astigmatism

At our practice, we can recommend various treatments for astigmatism, to help you achieve sharper vision. Some treatments we may recommend include:

• Glasses — Blurry vision from astigmatism is commonly treated with eyeglasses. Glasses help bend the light that enters the eye to focus on one point in the retina, resulting in clearer vision.
• Contact Lenses — Contacts can also be used to improve smaller amounts of astigmatism; however, this can be a bit more complicated. Since the shape of the cornea is more irregular, finding a contact lens to fit can be difficult. People with astigmatism need a special contact lens known as a toric lens. Only some contact lens brands offer this type of lens.
• Laser Eye Surgery — LASIK and other types of laser vision correction may treat astigmatism, but they also have more potential complications than glasses or contact lenses. While surgery may reduce the magnitude of astigmatism, many patients continue to need some type of vision correction after surgical procedures. For this reason, not all patients with astigmatism are good candidates for surgery.

Contact us for an Appointment Today

If you are experiencing any symptoms of astigmatism, our team at Eye-Site in Boynton Beach, FL, can help. Once we evaluate your eyes, we can determine the necessary treatment that will ease your symptoms and improve your vision. To learn about our treatments or to schedule your appointments, call us at (561) 738-0111 today. When you are in need of an optometrist, we are happy to assist!