As children enter the hospital for eye exams, many parents may face an issue that makes them anxious – astigmatism! When it is first discovered that a child has astigmatism, many parents are confused. The ophthalmologist's advice made them even more anxious: severe astigmatism must wear glasses! But for astigmatism with very low power, do I need glasses? What happens if you don't wear glasses?
part.1 What is astigmatism
Astigmatism occurs when the surface of the cornea is oval in the shape of a football ball rather than a basketball-shaped circle. The uneven curvature of the cornea causes light to be refracted unevenly and cannot be focused on the same point, which is the nature of astigmatism. To put it simply, "astigmatism" is when the eyeball is not completely round, and there are different degrees in different positions. When the power in one position is corrected and the power in other positions is insufficient, blurred vision can occur.
part.2 To what extent does astigmatism require glasses?
Physiological astigmatism: hyperopic astigmatism at +0Within 5d (50 degrees), the axis is 90°, or myopic astigmatism -0Within 5d (50 degrees) with an axis of 180°, it is generally considered physiological astigmatism.
This type of astigmatism usually does not have a noticeable negative impact on vision, so glasses are generally not necessary.
Lower degree astigmatism: Low astigmatism, even if it is not severe, may need to be corrected in certain circumstances.
If the axial direction of astigmatism changes, it may affect your child's vision or cause symptoms of eye fatigue, and correction should be carefully considered, even if the degree is low.
Astigmatism with affected vision: Regardless of whether the astigmatism is high or low, spectacle correction is recommended if astigmatism causes vision loss.
Even if the prescription is mild, if it has a negative impact on the child's learning and life, timely correction of glasses is necessary.
The importance of axial variation: The correctness of the axial orientation is very important for the decision to dispense glasses.
Even if the astigmatism is low, if the axial direction changes, it can cause visual problems, so special attention needs to be paid to the accuracy of the axial direction when correcting.
part.3. Astigmatism without glasses should be vigilant against interference
Regardless of whether the astigmatism is low or high, the correctness of the axial direction is crucial. If the axial orientation is incorrect, even if the astigmatism is low, it may introduce a new refractive error to the patient, resulting in unacceptable interference symptoms. Moderate correction is desirable for low-grade astigmatism without affecting vision or relieving symptoms. In particular, patients with high astigmatism and axial deviations that are not between the positive axial diameters should be corrected with caution. Excessive correction may cause the patient to perceive the size and shape of the object to differ from the actual object, which in turn may cause errors in spatial positioning. People with farsighted astigmatism may be more susceptible to this interfering symptom than those with myopic astigmatism.
part.4 Prevention of astigmatism starts at an early age
In addition to spectacle correction, daily eye care is also very important. For little ones, there are some simple eye exercises to help keep their eyes flexible and healthy. Moderate outdoor activities can also help relieve eye fatigue and reduce the burden on the eyes. At the same time, maintaining adequate sleep time and staying away from electronic screens also has a positive effect on preventing the occurrence of astigmatism.
Scientific correction methods and good eye care habits are the key to protecting vision. Parents should always pay attention to their children's eye health, conduct regular eye examinations, detect problems in time and take effective measures.