He althy eyes and excellent vision is the dream of every person. But not everyone can boast of this. Almost everyone has some type of eye disease. And in this article we will consider such a disease as astigmatism: what it is, how to treat it and how to avoid it.
What is astigmatism?
Astigmatism is one of the main causes of visual impairment. It can occur in combination with farsightedness and nearsightedness.
Astigmatism can be translated from Latin as "absence of a focal point".
In a he althy eye, the lens and cornea have a flat surface of a sphere. When astigmatism occurs, their sphericity is disturbed. Curvature is formed in different directions.
The refractive power in the cornea is different in different places, so when light rays pass through such a cornea, a distorted image is obtained. Part of the image can be focused on the retina, part - in front of or behind it. The final image that a person sees becomes blurry,distorted.
To make it easier to imagine what an image looks like with astigmatism, you can look at your reflection in an oval spoon. This is how distortion occurs. And how to treat astigmatism, we will consider later.
Causes of disease
To learn how to treat astigmatism in the eye, you first need to know the causes of this disease.
So, the main cause of astigmatism is the deformation of the lens or cornea. In this case, the cornea does not have the shape of a sphere, but looks something like a melon, that is, it is slightly convex on one side. Light rays passing through such a curved cornea are focused on the retina at several points (and should be at one). Therefore, the image becomes fuzzy.
In addition, astigmatism can occur due to nearsightedness or farsightedness.
Signs of astigmatism
Before learning how to treat astigmatism in adults, it is important to know the signs of the disease so as not to make a mistake in choosing a treatment.
Most often, astigmatism is inherited. Therefore, its signs can be detected even in childhood. Children may complain of eye fatigue, they may constantly squint, which indicates a decrease in vision, and the eyes turn red when stressed. If parents have noticed these signs in their child, then it is urgent to take him to the doctor to find out how to treat astigmatism in children.
In addition, children must be checked by a doctor if at least one of the parents has such a disease. If children's astigmatism is left untreated, then there is a risk of vision loss that cannot be corrected, that is, the development of amblyopia. Therefore, it is extremely important to check the child's vision in a timely manner with a doctor who, if a disease is detected, will give clear recommendations on how to treat eye astigmatism in children.
Other signs of the disease include the following:
- The outlines of things are distorted.
- Double vision even with little physical exertion.
- Things have fuzzy boundaries.
- Frequent headaches.
- Eye fatigue increases even with minor exertion.
There are three periods of astigmatism - weak, medium, high. With a weak period, eye damage occurs by no more than one diopter. In this case, vision practically does not deteriorate and treatment is not required. With an average and high period, the intervention of doctors is already necessary.
Myopia and farsightedness are true companions of astigmatism. As a rule, along with astigmatism, one thing occurs, but sometimes signs of both diseases appear.
Types of astigmatism
Many people wonder: "How to treat astigmatism?" But the treatment is selected by a professional ophthalmologist individually for each patient, based on the type of disease. The disease is divided into types, based on the presence of myopia or hyperopia in one or two main meridians of the eye.
So, astigmatism can be of the following types:
- Hypermetropicsimple. With this view, one main meridian is affected by farsightedness, and the second is in a normal state (emmetropia).
- Hypermetropic complex. In this case, farsightedness in both meridians of the eye.
- Myopic simple. In this form, one main meridian is affected by myopia, and the second is in a normal state (emmetropia).
- Myopic complex. In this case, in both meridians - myopia.
- Mixed. With this type of astigmatism, both nearsightedness and farsightedness are observed in the main meridians.
Types of astigmatism
In order to know how to treat astigmatism, in addition to its type, you need to determine the degree. To do this, in ophthalmology, the Tabo scale (from 0 to 180 degrees) is used, with the help of which the main axes of the disease are determined.
So, there are three types of astigmatism:
- Straight - the vertical meridian has the greatest power of refraction. A patient with this type of disease perceives vertical lines more clearly. This type is diagnosed most often.
- Reverse - the greatest refraction power in the horizontal meridian. In this case, a person sees precisely horizontal lines more clearly. This type of astigmatism is extremely rare, but vision in this case decreases more and faster. This is due to the fact that a person lives in a vertically oriented world.
- Astigmatism with oblique axes. The patient has difficulty seeing both horizontal and vertical lines.
Degrees of astigmatism
And finally, moreone important criterion to consider before deciding how to treat astigmatism is the extent of the disease.
So, ophthalmologists distinguish three main degrees of astigmatism:
- Weak degree (up to 3 diopters). This degree of the disease is the most common and can be treated with all known methods (glasses, contact lenses, laser correction).
- Medium degree (from 3 to 6 diopters). This degree is less common. Glasses cannot be used to correct it. In this case, you can apply contact lenses, laser vision correction or surgery.
- High degree (more than 6 diopters). The reason for such a high degree of astigmatism can be gross changes in the cornea. For treatment, hard contact lenses are used, as well as a combination of laser and surgical vision correction.
It becomes clear that the higher the degree of the disease, the more the vision deteriorates, and the more difficult it is to correct it. Many people want to know how to treat astigmatism at home. Let's take a look at these and other treatments below.
Why is astigmatism dangerous?
Many people who notice the first signs of astigmatism in themselves are in no hurry to see a doctor. And very in vain. Left untreated, it can lead to frequent headaches and eye pain. Children's astigmatism is especially dangerous. Without quality treatment, a child may develop strabismus and vision may drop sharply. Many parents are trying to learn how to treat astigmatism in children at home. There are some tips for treating this disease at home. But they will only be useful if they are carried out in combination with high-quality medical treatment.
Disease prevention
Of course, it is easier to prevent a disease than to cure it. But people forget or simply neglect all methods of disease prevention until it affects them personally.
Prevention of astigmatism is very simple, it does not take much time and effort, but it will keep you he althy for many years.
So, to avoid such a disease as astigmatism, it is enough just to alternate work with a lot of eye strain with rest.
The lighting of the workplace should be chosen very carefully. The lamp is best placed in front or to the left of the person. The lighting in the room should be 100%, because when the eye moves from a lighter area of the room to a darker one, the eyes get tired faster.
Here are some simple tips to help keep your eyesight for years to come.
Correction of astigmatism with glasses
For spectacle correction of astigmatism, ophthalmologists prescribe special "complex" glasses. Cylindrical lenses are inserted into them. If the patient has a high degree of the disease, then wearing such glasses can cause him discomfort (dizziness, pain in the eyes). To avoid this, it is important to conduct a thorough diagnosis in order to correctly select the necessary glasses. Unfortunately, it often happens that patients have to change glasses several times to get rid ofdiscomfort.
Correction of astigmatism with contact lenses
For a long time it was thought that astigmatism could only be treated with hard contact lenses. But they were very uncomfortable to wear and had a very bad effect on the cornea. However, medicine and science do not stand still, and today more comfortable and safer toric lenses are used to correct astigmatism.
Treatment of disease at home
So, how to treat astigmatism in adults at home? There are some simple recipes.
- Tincture of blueberry leaves. To prepare, you need to pour three teaspoons of blueberry leaves with a liter of boiling water, insist for an hour and strain. During the day, the tincture should be drunk, divided into equal doses. Take before meals. In addition, fresh blueberries and blueberry jam are very good for eyesight.
- Splashing water. A very simple way that will improve blood circulation in the eyes. It is necessary to splash ice water on your eyes several times in a row.
- Cherry. It is very useful for the treatment of astigmatism to eat cherries, the main thing is not to overdo it. In addition, you can make small compresses of cherries on your eyes.
- Treatment with vegetables. For the treatment of astigmatism, it is useful to eat fresh green vegetables (cucumbers, spinach, dill, celery, parsley). In addition, carrots, garlic and beets are very useful for vision. With astigmatism, fresh juice from vegetables will perfectly help. But it is important to remember that 500 ml of juice per day is enough for children to treat. Otherwise, allergies may occur.
Exercises for treating astigmatism
There are some simple exercises that will help cure astigmatism yourself at home.
- You need to sit straight, keep your head straight. Eyes first look to the right and down. Sit like this for a while. Then you need to look to the left and down. Repeat 5-6 times.
- In the same position, look at the tip of the nose until the eyes get a little tired. Then you need to make several rotational movements to the right and left. Repeat 5-6 times.
- Very good for the eyes daily massage with fingertips.
Conclusion
In the article we examined in detail astigmatism: what it is, how to treat and how to avoid this disease. Follow these simple tips and your eyesight will always be 100%!
