Medical Center Opticians (Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3310)

• Is astigmatism harmful to your eyes?

  No,it is not eye disease and can't be harmful to your eyes.Just like the nearsightedness or farsightedness,you can correct it by wearing glasses or contacts,but they have no effect on the astigmatism itself.

• Can one have astigmatism without having myopia?

  Sure,it is possible for one to have astigmatism without myopia.There is not a connection between them.Often they don't occur together and most people have myopia without astigmatism.

• Are contacts more effective and comfortable for astigmatism than glasses?

  Low-degree astigmatism can be corrected by contacts,but there is no study showing that contacts are more effective for astigmatism than glasses.You can ask suggestion from your doctor and determine which one is good for astigmatism.

• Can laisk surgery cure astigmatism?

  It is the misconception that LASIK eye surgery doesn't apply to astigmatism.By lasik surgery,it removes the corneal tissue that is not curved.But if you have a small degree you can wear regular contacts and glasses and it won't affect vision much.

• Will it damage your eyes to wear a regular contact lense if you have astigmatism?

  If you have a small degree of astigmatism(less than -0.75 ),wearing regular lenses won't affect your vision much.If you have more than that, you will feel eye strain and blurry when you try to drive or do work at night.The toric lenses would help solve the problem.

• Can I get colored contacts for astigmatism?

  Yes. you can get your colored contacts for astigmatism. I know that colourblends is a type of colored contacts for astigmatism. You can go to your optometrist to have a check.

• How does the astigmatism affect vision?

  Astigmatism refers to an abnormal, elliptical shaping of the front surface of the human eye, or cornea. Although it is part of the larger group of eye conditions known as refractive errors, a category that includes the more commonly known ailments of nearsightedness and farsightedness, astigmatism is neither a disease nor a certain cause of vision problems. Only in cases where the curvature of the cornea is severe enough to prevent the human eye from focusing in on light rays will corrective lenses possibly be required. Unlike nearsightedness or farsightedness, someone with severe astigmatism will experience distorted or blurred vision at both close and long range. They may also suffer from headaches, fatigue and other discomfort as a result of the abnormal curvature. Source: http://www.sophisticatededge.com/does-astigmatism-affect-vision.html

• Where can I get colored contacts for astigmatism?

  You can get it from many online stores,such as 1800contacts or visiondirect.You just need to search colored contacts online and you may find they provide colored contacts specially made for astigmatism.

View More