Astigmatism Essay

Astigmatism is not a disease but rather a condition. It’s an eye condition that causes your vision to worsen over time. This happens because the cornea (eye) is not curved properly, which is irregular, which sometimes causes one area of the cornea to be steeper or possibly even flatter than the other. There are two very common types of astigmatism; they are called “Corneal” and “Lenticular” astigmatism. Corneal astigmatism is when one side of the cornea is either flatter or steeper than the other side. This causes blurred vision because the light that hits the retina at the back of the eye isn’t refracted properly, thus causing an imperfect image. Lenticular astigmatism is when the lens, not the cornea, has variations in its curvature. This type of astigmatism is quite similar to the corneal astigmatism, the only difference is that it occurs in the lens and not the eye. This also causes the light to imperfectly reach the retina, which again causes the image to be blurry. In most cases people that have lenticular astigmatism only have defects in the lens and not the shape of the cornea.
The most common reason as for why people get astigmatism is either because they were born with it or it runs in the family. Other causes and risk factors would be infections, eye injuries (chemical, trauma, direct contact, etc.), and other eye conditions like ptosis, drooping of the eyelids, cataract extraction, and keratotomy. Infections, eye injuries, and direct contact of things such as chemicals, dust particles, and other objects can increase the risk of developing astigmatism and even cause people to develop other diseases. Ptosis is when the upper eyelid droops due to paralysis or disease. Cataract extraction is a type of surgery when a eyes cloudy lens is removed, this may also include the implantation of a intraocular lens. Keratotomy is a surgical operation that involves the cutting of the cornea.
Who does astigmatism affect? Well naturally it can affect people of all