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If you are experiencing blurry vision, you should see a professional eye doctor, like ours at our New Rochelle NY eye care practice to be evaluated. While there are many potential causes of blurry vision, one common cause is astigmatism. Astigmatism is not serious and is not an eye disease. It’s a correctable refractive error just like farsightedness and nearsightedness.
Astigmatism is occurs due to the irregular shape of the cornea. The natural eye is shaped like a sphere, allowing the light that enters the eye to refract evenly. However, the eyes of people with astigmatism are shaped like more like a spoon, causing the light to go in one direction than another. When this happens only one part of an object can be focused on at one time and objects at any distance appear wavy and blurry. There are three main types of astigmatism: myopic, hyperopic and mixed. In myopic astigmatism, both meridians of the eyes are nearsighted. In hyperopic astigmatism both meridians of the eyes are farsighted. In mixed astigmatism, one meridian is farsighted and the other is nearsighted. Astigmatism can be easily diagnosed by an eye doctor like our at our New Rochelle NY eye care practice. It is diagnosed using the instruments and techniques used during a routine eye exam just like other refractive errors like nearsightedness and farsightedness are. Patients who are diagnosed with astigmatism can be easily treated. The condition can be easily corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery. In most cases surgery would not be necessary, nor would it be the first treatment recommendation. The eye doctor will most likely provide you with a prescription for corrective eyewear such as eyeglasses or contact lenses.
To learn more about astigmatism, call our New Rochelle NY eye care office. We’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
By Dr. Chris DiGiorgio
April 4, 2019
