The Best Corrective Lenses for Astigmatism

Astigmatism is a refractive error that occurs when the light entering the eye does not focus and falls incorrectly on the retina. Astigmatism is highly treatable using eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery. If you need eye care and are looking for an optometrist near you, consider the Eye Site team, with offices in Katy and Memorial, TX.

Astigmatism Causes and Symptoms

Astigmatism occurs as light passes through your cornea and the lens behind your pupil. The light bends as it passes through the cornea and lens. Then the light lands on the retina. However, for people with astigmatisms, their corneas, lenses, or both are irregularly shaped, and the light does not focus when it lands on the retina. This causes symptoms of blurry vision, squinting, difficulty seeing, and more.

Treating Astigmatism with Corrective Lenses

While people with nearsightedness and farsightedness have a single refractive error and need one correction, astigmatism results in multiple errors, so your corrective lenses must provide different adjustments in different areas. The differences in corrective strength mean your lenses must remain in the same position over your eyes to work effectively. Keeping the lenses in place is not a problem when using cylindrical eyeglass lenses because the frames hold the lenses in a relatively consistent position.

A different situation applies when using contacts to treat astigmatism because contacts typically float over the cornea and change position regularly. However, due to the varying corrective strengths needed to treat astigmatism, contact lenses must remain in the same position above the eyes. Floating is undesirable, so those with astigmatism often use toric lenses with a different shape that allows them to remain in place. Toric lenses also have a specific orientation, so the customized lenses provide the adjustments each patient needs after being positioned correctly.

Optometrists also prescribe scleral lenses for astigmatism. Scleral lenses remain in place because they rest on the whites of the eyes rather than floating over the cornea. No matter what, the corrective lenses must be correctly positioned to work properly.

Astigmatism Treatment at Eye Site in Katy and Memorial, TX

If you have astigmatism, need an eye exam, or other care from an eye doctor near you, contact the Eye Site team today. We have two conveniently located optometry office in Katy, and Memorial, TX. Call or go online to schedule your appointment.