From the Latin language, astigmatism translates as the absence of a focal point. This means that the refractive power of the cornea or the lens is broken, preventing proper focusing of the eye. Clinical manifestations depend on the degree and form of astigmatism - the symptoms of an easy stage of the disease are almost invisible, and in the case of a serious type of illness, they bring tangible discomfort.
Types and symptoms of eye astigmatism in adults
The described violation of refraction is different in configuration:
- myopic - the eyeball is elongated, nearsightedness develops;
- hypermetropic - the eyeball is shortened, farsightedness develops.
Also the pathology happens:
- congenital, due to hereditary disorders or abnormal development within the womb;
- acquired, is a consequence of injuries, surgeries, diseases, keratoconus.
In terms of severity, astigmatism is classified as follows:
- weak;
- average expression;
- high degree.
There are several more subgroups of the disease under consideration, which are made in accordance with the change in refractive force, refraction and priority of focusing in different eye meridians.
The signs of astigmatism in adults depend, for the most part, only on the severity of the disorder. So, with a weakly expressed pathology, a person practically does not feel any discomfort, he can not even guess at the anomaly he has.
A high degree, on the contrary, is accompanied by specific symptoms:
- tired eyes ;
- headache;
- blurred image;
- tension of the eye muscles;
- increased sensitivity to bright light;
- rarely - watery eyes;
- deterioration of vision in twilight;
- fast eye fatigue;
- need to squint, tilt the head for normal focusing.
Test for symptoms of astigmatism
Most often for the detection of pathology, the Siemens star is used - a radiant figure of the correct round shape, or similar drawings. But it is much easier to independently determine the presence of astigmatism due to such a simple test:
- Close your left hand with your palm and look at the picture.
- Repeat the same for the right eye.
If, while viewing the image, some lines do not appear to be black, but gray or dark gray, that is, significant refractive disorders and it is worth immediately contacting the ophthalmologist. All the bands in this square have exactly the same length and color, are located at an equal distance from each other.
How to distinguish astigmatism from other eye diseases in people by symptoms?
Some people confuse the described disease with more severe visual impairment, mistaking the emerging clinical manifestations.
It is important to remember that headache, lacrimation with astigmatism does not occur immediately after eye strain, for example, working at a computer or reading a small print, and later
A clear feature of astigmatism is its negative effect on the ability to focus both on far-away objects and on closely lying objects, in contrast to true myopia and hypermetropia. In many cases, the clarity of the image can be achieved by focusing on a single point, but the picture in the peripheral field of view becomes blurred.