What is Astigmatism?
Astigmatism is a common eye condition in which the front part of the eye, the cornea (see eye anatomy), is not perfectly spherical. Instead of being spherical like a basketball, it is round and distorted, like a football and is not to be confused with having double vision.
Astigmatism does not cause eye pain, and it is not an eye infection. Through proper eye care and visiting your eye doctor, you can correct vision impairments caused by astigmatism.
The following websites provide descriptions of astigmatism, including how to tell if you have astigmatism, and graphics to help you understand astigmatism:
- All About Vision - includes a video on LASIK correction of astigmatism
- American Optometric Association
- Mayo Clinic
- Medline
- National Eye Institute
For more information, read about how astigmatism can be corrected.