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In the initial stages, astigmatism is easily confused with eye fatigue, overexertion from gadgets and monitors, and long driving. It is important to notice the problem in time, because it is at an early stage that astigmatism is easier to correct.
What is astigmatism
Astigmatism is a visual defect in which the shape of the cornea or lens is distorted. Because of this, the light rays passing through them are focused on the retina in the wrong way. The image is blurry, elongated, and regardless of the distance to the object.
Most people at birth have a small degree of astigmatism, it is called physiological. The degree is so small that it does not affect the quality of vision and is not considered a problem. With a value of more than 1 diopter, astigmatism can impair vision and needs to be corrected.
Prevalence of astigmatism
| > 1 diopter | 15,6 – 22,5% |
| > 2 diopter | 4,2 – 5,4% |
| > 3 diopters | 1,6% |
Causes of astigmatism in adults
The causes of astigmatism are divided into congenital and acquired. Congenital astigmatism is considered acceptable only up to 1 diopter. Higher values are caused by pathologies in the structure of the cornea or lens.
The cause is usually anomalies in the development of the bones of the orbit, jaws, uneven pressure on the eyeball of the muscles or eyelids. Such deformations develop even in the womb for a variety of reasons – from genetic mutations to the effects of chemicals on the embryo.
Acquired astigmatism develops due to eye injuries. Strokes, injuries, surgery, inflammation of the cornea can cause diseases. Astigmatism can affect both eyes, or just one. Congenital disease almost always affects both eyes.
Symptoms of astigmatism in adults
One of the first signs of astigmatism is double vision in any plane, vertically or horizontally. The image can double in different ways, overlapping each other or diverging far enough. This double vision is called diplopia.
If diplopia is binocular, then double vision disappears if one of the eyes is closed. With monocular diplopia, on the contrary, the bifurcation of the picture occurs only when only one eye is involved. There is also a third type, when an object located behind the point on which the gaze is focused doubles.
Also, with astigmatism, the eyes get tired quickly due to abnormal tension. With prolonged work, reading, there is often a feeling of a foreign body in the eye, redness, lacrimation. Eye strain causes headaches and dizziness. It is these signs that are easy to confuse with ordinary fatigue from work, unaware of astigmatism.
With a noticeable degree of illness, difficulties may begin with determining the distance to objects or between them. This affects the ability to navigate in space, can lead to a collision with objects, since it is not clear how far it is. A person can miss when aiming somewhere.
Treatment of astigmatism in adults
Treatment depends on the cause of the astigmatism and its degree. With a weak degree of up to 3 diopters, correction with the help of specially selected glasses is usually sufficient. Sometimes they resort to microsurgery.
Less common is an average degree of up to 6 diopters, which is corrected with toric lenses and surgery. A severe degree of more than 6 diopters lends itself only to hard lenses that distort the shape of the cornea; and laser vision correction.
Glasses and soft contact lenses are effective for mild to moderate astigmatism. With strong astigmatism, glasses cause headaches, it is extremely difficult to get used to them, the picture is distorted at the edges of the visual fields.
Diagnostics
Astigmatism, like other eye diseases, is diagnosed by ophthalmologists. At the first signs of visual impairment, you should consult a doctor for examination and hardware diagnostics.
Since astigmatism is often complicated by other eye diseases, the diagnosis is quite extensive and includes many studies. Astigmatism can be due to a curvature of the cornea or lens, so both are checked. It also determines whether there is farsightedness or nearsightedness. One of the complex variants of astigmatism is when both eyes are affected, and one of them has myopia, and the other has hypermetropia (nearsightedness and farsightedness, respectively).
According to the Sivtsev-Golovin table, the doctor determines visual acuity. With the help of special lenses, the degree of refraction is determined – the refraction of a beam of light in the eye. It is even more accurate to establish whether there are any refractive errors using refractometry with an artificially dilated pupil. To do this, a special solution is instilled into the eyes.
With the help of biomicroscopy of the eye, a possible inflammation of the cornea is revealed. Ophthalmoscopy is used to examine the fundus, the vitreous body of the eyeball. There is also a method of keratotopography to identify the degrees of astigmatism that frolic as a result of corneal pathology.
Only after the examination is it possible to establish the exact degree and causes of astigmatism, and choose a treatment method.
Modern treatments
Modern techniques allow to perform operations on the eyes with minimal damage. The operation technique is selected depending on the type of astigmatism and only after the examination.
With a strong degree of astigmatism, surgery is the main method of correction, since the selection of glasses does not completely solve the problem. Usually, a laser is used, which affects the refractive power of the cornea. To do this, they can cauterize the periphery of the cornea, evaporate a small layer of the cornea to change its curvature. Older methods do the same thing, but with different tools and influences. For example, cauterization is carried out not with a laser, but with a metal needle.
If the problem is in the lens, a lensectomy will help – replacing the lens with an artificial one. The material is absolutely biocompatible with body tissues, so there are no problems with rejection or allergies.
Prevention of astigmatism in adults at home
Astigmatism can be avoided only by avoiding injuries and eye infections. Congenital astigmatism is unpredictable and difficult to prevent.
It is necessary to visit the optometrist regularly in order to identify all possible problems at an early stage and eliminate them. If you wear corrective lenses or glasses, you should have your vision checked at least once every six months. It may be necessary to replace the corrector. If you wear the wrong optics, your vision may deteriorate even more, and your well-being will deteriorate greatly.
Popular questions and answers
Doctors recommend not to write off slight discomfort in the eyes for ordinary fatigue, so as not to accidentally miss the disease. Read more about problems with astigmatism ophthalmologist Svetlana Pervykh.