People with astigmatism experience blurry vision, especially when driving at night. This condition can be treated through prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses, reducing the effects of astigmatism symptoms. The eye doctors at Littlefield Optometry, LLC, in Kansas City, MO, understand how distressing suffering from astigmatism can be and work with our patients to diagnose and treat the condition.
What Is Astigmatism?
Astigmatism is a common imperfection of the eye’s curvature, causing blurred distance and near vision. The mismatched curves of the cornea can be treated with contact lenses or eyeglasses. However, many patients have had astigmatism since birth and experience a combination of nearsightedness and farsightedness.
How Does Our Optometrist Diagnose Astigmatism?
An optometrist will conduct a comprehensive eye exam, including a series of tests to check eye health and refraction. These tests help the eye doctor diagnose a patient with astigmatism and develop a treatment plan, such as prescribing special eyeglasses or contact lenses. It is best to speak with your optometrist to discuss vision problems and any concerns, which can help them diagnose and determine if you have astigmatism.
How Is Astigmatism Treated?
The ultimate goal is to improve vision clarity and provide eye comfort. Common treatments include corrective lenses and refractive surgery. Corrective lenses help counteract an uneven curvature of the cornea by bending the light into the retina. Eyeglasses can correct refractive errors causing nearsightedness or farsightedness.
Contact lenses use orthokeratology to help correct astigmatism by wearing the hard contact lenses at night, helping reshape the eye and correcting refractive errors. Additionally, some soft contact lenses offer astigmatism correction by working like eyeglasses, helping correct refractive errors by refocusing how the light reflects into the eye.
Refractive surgery helps improve vision while reducing the need for eyeglasses or contact lenses. An eye surgeon uses a laser beam to reshape the curves of the cornea, which can help correct the refractive error.
Seeing an Eye Doctor Near Me for Astigmatism Treatment
Schedule an appointment with our optometrist to discuss the different treatments for astigmatism. If you do not have an optometrist and need to search for an “eye doctor near me,” consider contacting the optometry team at Littlefield Optometry, LLC, in Kansas City, MO. We are here to help treat your astigmatism and provide you with all the eye health care support needed. Call us today at (816) 888-5400 to schedule an appointment with one of our optometrists.