Zoom in on astigmatism [Quiz] 26 May 2021 Blog post supervised and approved by Dr. Michel Pop, ophthalmologist Do you find your vision blurry? If that’s the case, you might have what we call astigmatism. No need to worry, however: it’s a very common and easy-to-fix vision problem. That brings the question: do you know the causes, symptoms and corrections of astigmatism? Take the Michel Pop quiz at the end of the article to confirm your knowledge and learn even more! WHAT IS ASTIGMATISM? Astigmatism is a defect in the curving of the eyes. The cornea is oval instead of round, which deforms images because light rays don’t converge on a single point of the retina as they should. This deformation results in objects both far and near appearing blurred. Although it sometimes occurs in isolation, astigmatism is most often coupled with another vision problem, such as myopia or hyperopia. THE FACTORS THAT CAUSE ASTIGMATISM Astigmatism is caused by differences in the growth and alignment of parts of the eyes. These differences can be caused mainly by two things. In certain cases, they can be hereditary. In other cases, they can be due to other factors, such as a manual rubbing of the eyes. THE PREVALENCE OF ASTIGMATISM The majority of people have a bit of astigmatism. Indeed, it’s rare to have perfectly round eyes. However, a weak astigmatism doesn’t always cause a blurry vision. Between 0 and 1 dioptres, a case of astigmatism is considered weak, while it’s considered strong (needing a correction) above 2 dioptres. As for strong astigmatism, 20% of myopic and hyperopic people are affected by it. CORRECTING ASTIGMATISM As is the case with many other vision problems, astigmatism won’t correct itself over time. However, it can be corrected in many ways once it’s detected. The most common solution is wearing sight-correcting glasses or contact lenses. However, if you want to solve your astigmatism problem permanently for aesthetic reasons, comfort-related reasons or others, it is possible to do so with ocular surgery. Dr Pop offers procedures to correct astigmatism with All-laser Lasik, PRK and intraocular lenses such as EVO lenses. ASTIGMATISM QUIZDo you know the causes, symptoms and corrections of astigmatism? Take the Michel Pop quiz to confirm your knowledge and learn even more! Start1. Astigmatism can be hereditary.TRUEFALSECorrect !Wrong !The differences in growth and alignment of parts of the eye which cause astigmatism can be hereditary. They can also be due to a manual rubbing of the eyes. Next1/52. Astigmatism can be corrected by vitreolysis.TRUEFALSECorrect !Wrong !Vitreolysis is ideal to remove eye floaters, not to treat astigmatism. To treat that, the solutions are: wearing glasses/contact lenses, All-laser Lasik, PRK and intraocular lenses such as EVO lenses. Next2/53. Astigmatism is due to having eyes that are too round.TRUEFALSECorrect !Wrong !Astigmatism is due to an oval rather than round cornea, which causes a blurry vision. Next3/54. There’s only 1 type of astigmatism.TRUEFALSECorrect !Wrong !Even though corneal astigmatism is the most frequent, internal astigmatism also exists. Even more rarely, when corneal and internal astigmatism are both present, they constitute what we call total astigmatism. Next4/55. 20% of myopic people also have strong astigmatism.TRUEFALSECorrect !Wrong !20% of myopic and hyperopic people have astigmatism. Next5/50/5Better luck next time!Read this article on astigmatism to learn more.1/5Better luck next time!Read this article on astigmatism to learn more.2/5Better luck next time!Read this article on astigmatism to learn more.3/5Not bad !You have knowledge but you are not yet an expert in astigmatism!4/5Impressive!Well done ! You have indisputable knowledge about astigmatism!5/5Impressive!Well done ! You have indisputable knowledge about astigmatism! TO LEARN MORE: To test your knowledge on other vision problems, try our quiz on myopia and read our article on hyperopia!