• Astigmatism is a condition of the eye that results when the cornea is an odd shape. The cornea should be spherical, but in people who have astigmatism, it is closer to football-shaped. Curvature of the lens portion of the eye also causes astigmatism. Either way, the result is blurry vision when trying to see into the distance, because the light does not focus properly on the retina. Astigmatism usually occurs with either near-sightedness or far-sightedness of the eyes, but it is possible for astigmatism to exist as the only eye condition.
  
  

Risk Factors

• Many people have a mild astigmatism, since the cornea is rarely completely spherical. Any elongation at all is the definition of astigmatism. Unless it affects vision or causes headaches, it is not necessary to do anything about it. Most people who have more severe forms of astigmatism were born with it. Children may not realize they have blurred vision, unless it is severe, until they go to school and take their first eye test. It is possible to develop astigmatism after an accident involving the eye or after a surgery on the eye. If one notices blurring of vision occurring when attempting to focus on the distance, one may have astigmatism. A simple eye test can determine if this is astigmatism or another ailment of the eye.
  
  

Regular and Irregular Astigmatism

• Regular astigmatism occurs when the principle meridians in the eye are at right angles to each other. The cornea sends light to the retina from both meridians, instead of from a single source as it does in a normal eye. The result is that the retina does not get one clear picture and the picture looks blurred and out of focus. Irregular astigmatism occurs when the principle meridians in the eye are at any other angles besides right angles. Generally, this condition requires stronger treatment and standard lenses may not fix the condition.
  
  

Treatments for Astigmatism

• Corrective lenses are the usual way to correct astigmatism. The doctor will provide a prescription to the patient, which includes grinding the lenses in such a way as to correct near-sightedness, far-sightedness and the astigmatism. Another viable option for astigmatism is contact lenses. Yet another option is laser surgery. In this option, the surgeon will reform the cornea to the correct shape using lasers to cut away the extra portion of the cornea. After a successful surgery, the patient should not have to wear corrective lenses.