Astigmatism may sound scary, and is often confused as an eye disease, but it is simply a type of refractive error that causes blurry or distorted vision at all ranges. Astigmatism may occur on its own or may be present in conjunction with other refractive errors, such as myopia (nearsightedness) or hyperopia (farsightedness).
“Normal” vision, or seeing clearly without corrective lenses, requires light to focus directly on the retinal tissue in the back of your eye. In astigmatic eyes, either the cornea or the lens (or both) are irregularly shaped, which causes light to scatter onto multiple points on the retina. This creates multiple images which can overlap or combine, resulting in blurry or distorted vision.
*Featured image from Shutterstock
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