*Gasp* The dreaded astigmata… astigma… stigma… stigmata… Wait what is this word? How do I even pronounce it? Uh-Stig-Ma-Tism is a phonetic pronunciation so you can pronounce it correctly in your head as you read through this.
So what is astigmatism?
Is it bad? Is it a problem? Can I die because of it?
To answer the last question, no, you can’t die or really go blind because of astigmatism. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, in most cases. It all depends on how much you have and if there is an underlying reason you would have it. Essentially, astigmatism is a different shape to the cornea. Normally, the clear front part of the eye (called the cornea) is supposed to be shaped like a ping-pong ball. Perfectly smooth and curved the same way across the eye. It’s incredibly rare for someone to have a perfectly “round” cornea though. I would say I’ve maybe seen this once or twice total in my career so far.
Astigmatism occurs when the cornea isn’t perfectly rounded. It means that one area of the cornea is flat, while another area is more steep. This means that we need different amounts of prescription in different locations to allow for light to land properly on the back of the eye.
So when is this a problem? Great question.
Almost every patient has astigmatism to a certain extent. Some don’t notice it in their vision and for some patients, their visual system is more sensitive to small changes in the power. Astigmatism becomes a problem when there are larger amounts of it. It can make contact lenses more difficult to fit, give more distortion in someone’s glasses, and in some cases can be the result of disorders that affect the cornea, such as keratoconus, corneal scarring after infection, or many other disorders.
These conditions are pretty uncommon though. We tend to see them a fair amount of them at Mt. View EyeCare because we are a specialty contact lens clinic and patients are often referred to us by local ophthalmologists and optometrists to help them be fit into these lenses so they can see better. These lenses include scleral contact lenses, hybrid contact lenses, and rigid gas permeable lenses, in addition to soft contact lenses.
If you or someone you know is suffering from a corneal problem, like keratoconus or corneal ectasia, please feel free to refer them to our clinic for an evaluation! We’d love to help!