Astigmatism

Like an odd-shaped, slightly-deflated basketball that just won’t bounce right, astigmatism is the product of an eye that is not perfectly round and causes light to bounce around abnormally inside the eye. The result of this light refracting in more than one direction is a lack of visual focus.

How Astigmatism Impacts Vision

Astigmatism causes blurred vision and a lack of focus that can sometimes cause painful headaches, fatigue, and eyestrain. It is largely untreatable without the use of corrective lenses or refractive surgery – the latter of which is becoming more prevalent with the use of lasers.

Astigmatism Causes

Chalk this one up to genetics: there continues to be a cloud of mystery surrounding why astigmatism occurs at all, but it is a naturally-occurring phenomenon that should not be a cause for alarm or panic. In fact, it’s thought that most people have some form of an irregular eye shape that can lead to varying degrees of refractive error.