What's Astigmatism And How Common Is It?

Aug. 24, 2009— -- Question: What is astigmatism and how common is it?

Answer: Astigmatism is an eye error or a refractive error that is extremely common. It is referring to the fact that, as opposed to a basketball which is perfectly round in all directions, an eye might be shaped more like a football that has a different curvature in one direction than the other. And it simply means that instead of one sharp focus on the retina or the film of the eye there's two focuses. It could be one in front, one behind or both in front of the eye and as a result things can be blurry often picked up first close but also at a distance.

We all have some small amounts of astigmatism and you don't have to have glasses for all of them but they can be significant enough to require correction.