Eyesight Correction That You Need to Try

Will your eyesight suffer from astigmatism for good? Is it possible that you can improve your vision without letting your optician prescribe you new glasses? Can you let your eyes be free of eye glasses dependency for good? Here are the answers.

What is astigmatism?
Astigmatism is a medical term for a blurred vision that is caused by the irregular curve of the cornea. In this condition light rays will enter the eye not in the right focus on the retina, creating a blurred image. In simple words, astigmatism is an image distortion that is caused by improper shape of the cornea.
Two types of astigmatism that are common are corneal astigmatism that is caused by an irregular shape of the cornea and lenticular astigmatism which is caused by an irregular shape of the lens.

What causes astigmatism?
In corneal astigmatism, the light that comes into the cornea does not refract properly causing the retina receive an imperfect image.

In lenticular astigmation, the irregular shape of the lens is responsible for the imperfect images that reach the back of the eye (retina).

What are the symptoms of astigmatism?

The most common symptoms of astigmatism are:

* Blurred or distorted image at short or long distance
* Sensitivity to light
* Headaches
* Eye squints (as an attempt to see an object more clearly)
* Eye strain - when eye is forced to focus for a long period.

How astigmatism is diagnosed?

Your ophthalmologist or optometrist may use the following tools to examine your vision:

1. Visual test which involves reading letters on a chart. Optician may suspect that you have astigmatism if you see the letters become progressively smaller on each line.
2. Astigmatic dial chart which shows a series of semi-circle lines. People with astigmatism will not see the lines equally clear.
3. Ophthalmometer: an instrument for measuring the reflection of an image on the surface of the cornea and other capacities of the eye, to determine the degree of astigmatism.
4. Keratoscope (Placido's disk): an ophthalmic instrument to assess the shape the anterior surface of the cornea. If a patient is suffering from astigmatism, the reflection of a series of concentric rings that are projected onto the cornea are seen distorted.

What are the treatments for astigmatism?

Corrective lenses
Corrective eye glasses or contact lenses are used to bend the coming light rays to correct the faulty refraction so that the images will be received properly by the retina. However, corrective lenses cannot cure astigmatism. It is widely believed that dependency on glasses or contacts may weaken your eye muscles and will make your eyes lazy.

Laser eye surgery (PRK, LASEK or LASIK)
In eye surgery, the doctor will remove cornea and make it into a proper shape, then he will put the cornea back into the eye. Patients may feel pain and uncomfortable for a certain of period and need sometime for the eye to recover. Eye vision won't be stabilize for over a month.

One thing that you have to consider: eye surgery is expensive and can cause scar tissue that is not guaranteed will disappear. Scar tissue usually will be less flexible than normal tissue, leaving it to become disable to adjust to different circumstances.

Vision Therapy
Vision therapy is an alternative treatment for vision correction to improve astigmatism as well as other eyesight problems such as nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and presbyopia (old-age blur) without the use of eye glasses / contact lenses or eye surgery. The therapy is designed to re-educates the eyes and mind about the habits of seeing clearly and naturally. The program includes eye exercises, eye relaxing therapy, far and near training eye-charts that are easy to follow.

Many have claimed that this method is effective to improve astigmatism in a safe and inexpensive way.