Astigmatism Orange County

Astigmatism Treatment Los Angeles

An astigmatism is a common vision disorder where light does not reach the retina properly because of an irregular shape. Patients with an astigmatism will see a shadow or smear of an image that they are looking at. An Astigmatism may occur with patients who suffer from nearsightedness and farsightedness, and will cause objects to appear unclear. An untreated astigmatism may cause eye strains or headaches if untreated. Astigmatisms are easily treated with glasses or contact lenses. Depending on your level of astigmatism, Dr. Feinerman will make a recommendation as to which will work best for you.

What is astigmatism?

An astigmatism is a refractive error that causes light to focus at different points in the eye. Since the light is focusing at different points, a blurring affect is created at both near and far distances. Astigmatisms can be caused by the shape or curvature of the cornea being more of the shape of a football rather than spherical like a normal cornea.

There are two types of astigmatism: regular and irregular. A regular astigmatism, which is the dominant form of astigmatism, occurs when the part of the eye which needs the most amount of power is located 90 degrees away from the area in the eye that needs the least amount of power. It is symmetrical which is easy to correct with glasses and contacts. In an irregular astigmatism, the cornea may not always be smooth  it may be asymmetric. This causes light to scatter throughout the eye with many different focus points. Neither glasses nor soft contacts can correct this condition and rigid gas permeable lenses are often medical necessity for better vision.

How is astigmatism detected?

It is easy to identify an astigmatism by two common tests that Dr. Feinerman will perform. The first test is a keratometry, which measures the two main curvatures of the cornea. Dr. Feinerman may perform this during your routine eye exam. The keratometry is important if you are going to fitted for contact lenses. The second exam is  refraction. During this part of the exam you choose between the variety of glasses and contact lenses. Topography is another exam that is not commonly used but it provides a detailed map of the cornea. Topography is good if you are seeking surgery or if you have an irregular astigmatism.