How does astigmatism affect how you see Christmas lights?

What is astigmatism?

Astigmatism is an eye condition which is thought to affect nearly 50% of people in the UK who wear glasses. Most people with good vision have eyes which are perfectly round, which means that their eyes focus light well onto the retina. People with astigmatism have eyes which are shaped more like a rugby ball than a football, meaning that light which enters their eyes is distorted by the abnormal curvature. This leads to the image not focusing properly on their retinas, producing a blurry and distorted image. To understand more about the retina’s role in how you are able to see, visit our blog post on the structure of the human eye.

One of the most common impacts of astigmatism is that it distorts the way in which you see lights, resulting in streaks or halos around light sources. This means that when it comes to this time of year, when it’s a bit darker and festive decorations are put up, people with astigmatism may see Christmas lights very differently. From streaks and beams surrounding the fairy lights, to a fuzzy glow emitting from the Christmas tree, people with astigmatism don’t always see festive lights the way non-astigmatic people do.

What are the symptoms of astigmatism?

There are a number of symptoms that come alongside astigmatism, and if you experience these but haven’t been told by your optician that you have astigmatism, you should book yourself an eye test. Some people who were born with astigmatism and have had it for their whole lives may not even know that the visual symptoms they experience daily actually occur as a result of astigmatism.

• Eye strain
• Eye pain
• Blurred vision
• Squinting to focus
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Night blindness

Astigmatism comes in different levels of severity, so it may be that if you have a couple of these symptoms, but only slightly, then you might just have mild astigmatism. More severe astigmatism could affect your day to day life more significantly, with eye strain and visual fatigue really impacting your ability to focus on screens, work in low lighting and see much without your glasses or contact lenses.

Thankfully, astigmatism isn’t an eye disease – it’s simply a refractive error, a bit like being long-sighted or short-sighted. This means that it can be rectified with a number of solutions which we’ll look into a little later on, which should eliminate the symptoms described above.

How do you know if you have astigmatism?

Astigmatism is typically diagnosed at an eye test with your optician. There are a number of factors that increase your likelihood of experiencing astigmatism which include; a strong prescription (either short or long-sighted), thin corneas, family history of astigmatism, or corneal scarring from surgery or an eye injury.

At an eye test, you will be asked to read letters from a Snellen chart to show the optician exactly what you can see without glasses or contact lenses. You will then have a refraction test which involves you reading the chart again through lenses of different strengths. This will show the optician whether these lenses sharpen your vision, and provide an indication of what your prescription might be. A keratometry is another eye test which is particularly relevant for diagnosing astigmatism. This test measures the curve on your cornea, highlighting any irregularities in its shape. Knowing where the irregularities lie on your cornea allows effective treatment to be prescribed to correct the blurring caused by astigmatism.

What are the different types of astigmatism?

Astigmatism can either be regular or irregular. Regular astigmatism is more common and this is the type which more people are born with. It is simply where your cornea is more curved in one direction than another. It can easily be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Irregular astigmatism, on the other hand, is less common and develops later in life, typically after an eye injury or keratoconus. Glasses don’t always correct irregular astigmatism but – depending on the curve and irregularities on the cornea – specialised contact lenses do sometimes help.

In addition to regular and irregular astigmatism, there are three main types of astigmatism: myopic (short-sighted), hyperopic (long-sighted), and mixed (a different level of sightedness in each eye).

How do people with astigmatism see Christmas lights?

If you have astigmatism, it’s likely that lights may appear:

• Streaky
• Blurry
• Fuzzy
• Surrounded by glare
• Surrounded by halos

This is because, at night or in dim light, your pupil dilates in order to allow more light into the eye. As it dilates and grows large, more peripheral light enters your eye. The main effect of this is increased blurring and glare resulting in fuzziness, particularly around lights. When it comes to Christmas lights, it may be that you struggle to see the individual bulbs or lights on a string, instead seeing a general blur with all the lights merging together.

How can you fix astigmatism?

If the above description of lights sounds familiar to you, then it’s possible that you have astigmatism. However, there are several solutions for correcting astigmatism and providing good vision, with options including glasses, contact lenses, or eye surgery. The lenses in your glasses can be made to include a level of correction which reduces your distorted vision, but this will depend on the severity of your astigmatism. Alternatively, if you would prefer not to wear glasses, astigmatism can be treated with toric contact lenses. These are contacts which are specially designed to bend the light correctly in order to reach your retina in the right place. The shape of them is slightly different to regular contact lenses, as well as correcting for different prescription powers across the lens, if needed.

Another contact lens based option is orthokeratology which is an overnight wear lens. Also called ortho-k lenses, these are rigid contacts which change your cornea temporarily, providing good vision in the daytime before wearing off gradually over the next day or two. As the effects are temporary, ortho-k lenses are an on-going treatment for astigmatism and if, for whatever reason, you stop wearing them, then your vision will revert back.

At Optimax we treat lots of patients with astigmatism. These patients find that laser eye surgery allows them to have good vision and live life without glasses or contact lenses. Contrary to the common misconception that if you have astigmatism you’re unsuitable for laser eye surgery, we can actually offer treatment if you have an astigmatism reading of up to 6. Laser eye surgery eliminates astigmatism by using a cool beam laser to reshape your cornea. This corrects the irregularities in your corneal curvature, allowing light to reach your retina and thereby producing a clear image. If you would prefer a non-laser based treatment, we also offer implantable contact lens surgery using implantable toric lenses. Again, this treatment bends the light onto your retina effectively, giving good vision.

If you have astigmatism and are looking for a permanent solution to treat it, you can request your free info pack on our website here. If you would like further information and an informal chat, you can call us on 0800 093 1110 (it’s free!). Alternatively, if you are ready to visit us for a free no-obligation consultation to find out if you’re suitable, you can book online here. Achieve clear, natural vision and live life without astigmatism.