With the help of the eyes, a person perceives 80% of information about the world around him. If for some reason he ceases to see well, then the quality of life is seriously reduced. Today, there are 4 main categories of diseases and defects of the visual organ that a person most often encounters. One of them is astigmatism. According to statistics, the problem is more inherent in childhood. A serious degree is found in 6% of school-age children and in 40% to one degree or another.
The essence of the problem
In fact, astigmatism is not a disease, but only a violation. In the presence of such a defect, the light rays passing through the eye are focused not at one point, but at several. How does a person with astigmatism see? All surrounding objects to a person seem slightly stretched horizontally and vertically. As a result, the picture is fuzzy and blurry, and at any distance.
Such an anomaly often accompanies myopia or farsightedness.
For the brain to receive quality information about the surrounding objects, the eye must have a perfectly spherical shape. But, as you know, in nature not a single object has a perfectly correct shape. Therefore, the cornea of people’s eyes is round, oval and the more oval it is, the higher the degree of astigmatism.
Everyday life
What problems does the world face and how does a person with astigmatism see it?
A visual impairment causes a lot of problems to a person, it is difficult for him to read, even if the text is in close proximity near the eyes. It is difficult to recognize deleted items. Even the usual corrective means for vision (lenses, glasses) do not allow to improve the situation, only special lenses. With astigmatism, people see even worse in low light conditions. At the computer and reading, eyes quickly get tired, because they are very tense to focus and get a better image.
How does a person with mixed astigmatism see? Most problems occur in individuals in whom the problem has affected both eyes. In this case, focusing in the ocular organ occurs twice. Therefore, not only the borders of the image are blurred, but the entire image is completely. With this type of processing, the incoming information partially occurs in front of the retina, and the second processing behind the retina. But everything should happen on the retina itself, but it is damaged.
How does a person with astigmatism and myopia see? If he is immediately diagnosed with two pathologies, the objects not only double, but their outlines blur when removed. Both pathologies are very rare at the same time.
Symptomatology
The main symptom by which astigmatism can be suspected is a decrease in vigilance near, less often in the distance. The stronger the blurriness of the picture, the heavier the degree of anomaly.
Perhaps the appearance of burning and itching in the eyeball, fatigue and migraine, which is characteristic of the temporal region.
Associated symptoms
If the symptoms are very mild, then a person may not even suspect for many years that something is wrong with his eyesight. For this reason, ophthalmologists insist on a regular preventive examination.
Pain in the head may appear, but this symptom is characteristic of many other diseases, so it is often not paid attention to.
But you should pay attention to the following problems:
- drop in visual acuity;
- slight bifurcation in the eyes;
- discomfort, pain in the eyes;
- the onset of rapid fatigue;
- if there is a feeling that objects are changing their shape;
- The problem with determining the distance to a specific object.
To check yourself, you can look at the photo, as a person with astigmatism sees. If at least sometimes the picture is so distorted, then you should immediately contact an ophthalmologist.
Degrees
To date, there are three main degrees of defect.
up to 3 D | low degree | most often found and easily corrected |
up to 6 D | medium grade | less common, and there is no way to correct the anomaly with lenses, only surgery is indicated |
above 6 D | high degree | these are already profound changes in the structure of the eye, and perhaps more than one method of treatment will be required |
Most of all you can find descriptions of how a person with astigmatism 2.25 sees. This is the most common degree of anomaly, therefore the most studied.
Kinds
By nature of origin, two types are distinguished:
- Congenital form, with a severity of up to 0.5 D. Anomaly is characteristic of children and is considered a “functional” type, that is, does not affect visual acuity and the formation of binocularity. If the severity exceeds 1 D, then visual impairment is already observed and requires medical treatment.
- Acquired view. Such changes may appear after surgery on the eyes, injuries that led to gross scarring on the cornea.
Diagnostics
If it seems that you see in the same way as people with astigmatism see the world, you should still not rush into an independent diagnosis. For a clear diagnosis, you should contact an ophthalmologist who will conduct a number of studies. In a medical institution, computer diagnostics and refractometry are mandatory, which allows you to study the lens of the eye in the smallest details. Be sure to analyze metric indicators.
Defect correction
Modern medicine offers three solutions to the problem:
- Wearing special glasses.
- Contact lenses.
- Laser correction.
Spectacle correction
Since a person with astigmatism does not see well, it is necessary to solve this problem. If there is a possibility and desire of the patient, then he is prescribed glasses with special cylindrical lenses.
However, this correction method has a number of side effects in patients with a high degree of astigmatism with prolonged wear:
- dizziness;
- cut;
- discomfort in the eyes.
Contact lenses
Previously, only hard lenses were offered, which are quite inconvenient when constantly worn, and also had a negative effect on the cornea. Today they offer soft lenses that are more comfortable. However, these are not simple lenses, but special toric ones.
But such a correction requires regular visits to an ophthalmologist to monitor eye condition.
Laser correction
However, in order to forget forever about how a person with astigmatism sees, you will have to undergo an operation. Glasses or lenses are just a temporary way to get rid of symptoms.
Correction is carried out according to the LASIK technique. The procedure takes no more than 15 minutes. Such an operation is indicated for astigmatism up to 3 D. It is performed under local anesthesia.
The procedure involves opening (separating) the corneal layer, then making a small clearance, and the separated corneal flap is returned to its place. In this case, no sutures are applied; healing occurs naturally.
An improvement in vision is already observed 2 hours after surgery, a full recovery occurs within 7 days.
In order to no longer know how a person with astigmatism and myopia sees, it is best to perform an operation and forget about the problem once and for all.
Danger anomalies
The lack of treatment for astigmatism can lead to the development of strabismus and a rather serious decrease in visual acuity.
In addition, the patient will be bothered by constant severe migraines and discomfort in the eyes. Do not forget that in the presence of astigmatism in humans, the quality of life is significantly reduced.
Prevention
If the change is at the level of a weak degree of astigmatism (up to 1 D), then prevention plays a big role in preventing the development of such a disease.
One of the methods involves the use of vitamin complexes. When there are enough vitamins, macro- and microelements in the body, the load on the cornea of the eye is much less. In addition, vitamins can generally improve human health.
Do not neglect the recommendations for gymnastics for the eyes, especially if the work involves constant contact with a computer monitor. Exercises must be performed at least 2 times a day. Gymnastics will help to prevent not only the development of astigmatism, but also myopia and farsightedness. This is the simplest rotation of the eyes, lowering and raising them. And naturally, adhere to a healthy lifestyle, be active and take care of yourself.