Astigmatism is a common refractive error that can cause objects to appear blurry or out of focus at both near and far. Blurry or distorted vision doesn’t always mean your prescription simply needs to be stronger.
Astigmatism treatment can involve eyeglasses, contact lenses, or vision correction procedures such as LASIK. The right treatment depends on your prescription, eye health, age, lifestyle, and the shape of your cornea. If glasses or contacts are becoming more of a burden in your daily life, West Texas Eye Associates offers vision correction evaluations in Lubbock to determine whether LASIK or another option may be appropriate for your eyes.
What Is Astigmatism?
Astigmatism occurs when the cornea, the clear front surface of the eye, or the natural lens inside the eye has an uneven curvature.
Instead of focusing incoming light evenly onto a single point on the retina, an eye with astigmatism may focus it in multiple directions. This can cause vision to appear blurred, stretched, distorted, or less sharp.
Astigmatism can occur on its own, but it is also commonly found along with:
- Myopia (nearsightedness): Difficulty seeing objects clearly at a distance.
- Hyperopia (farsightedness): Difficulty focusing clearly at certain distances, particularly up close.
- Presbyopia: Age-related loss of near focusing ability that commonly develops during the 40s and beyond.
The amount of astigmatism you have may also change over time, which is one reason regular eye exams are important.
What Are the Different Types of Astigmatism?
West Texas Eye doctors can describe astigmatism in several ways, depending on where light focuses relative to the retina.
Myopic Astigmatism
With myopic astigmatism, one or both principal meridians of the eye focus light in front of the retina. This occurs along with nearsightedness and can make distant objects appear especially blurry.
Hyperopic Astigmatism
With hyperopic astigmatism, one or both principal meridians focus light behind the retina. This occurs alongside farsightedness and can interfere with clear vision at varying distances.
Mixed Astigmatism
Mixed astigmatism means your eye bends light unevenly. One part of the eye focuses light in front of the retina, while another part focuses it behind the retina. This can make vision look blurry or distorted.
Eye doctors may also describe astigmatism based on the direction the eye curves. You may hear terms like with-the-rule, against-the-rule, or oblique astigmatism. These simply describe which way the cornea is shaped.
What Are the Symptoms of Astigmatism?
Small amounts of astigmatism may cause few noticeable symptoms. As the refractive error becomes more significant, you may experience:
- Blurry or distorted vision
- Difficulty seeing clearly at night
- Glare or starbursts around lights
- Frequent squinting
- Eye strain
- Headaches
- Difficulty focusing on fine details
- Problems seeing clearly at a distance or up close
These symptoms are not unique to astigmatism. Cataracts, dry eye, changes in your glasses prescription, and other eye conditions can cause similar problems.
How Is Astigmatism Diagnosed?
Astigmatism can be detected during a comprehensive eye examination. Your eye doctor may use various measurements to assess both your prescription and the shape of your cornea. During your appointment, a machine will quickly estimate your prescription. Since astigmatism is related to the shape of the front of your eye, the doctor will measure the curvature of your cornea and may create a detailed map of its surface.
These tests help your doctor determine the severity and orientation of your astigmatism, as well as evaluate the health and evenness of your cornea. This information is essential for prescribing the appropriate glasses or contact lenses and can also indicate whether procedures like LASIK or PRK may be suitable for you.
How Is Astigmatism Treated?
There isn’t one treatment that is best for everyone. Astigmatism treatment options range from prescription glasses and contact lenses to surgical vision correction.
The best choice depends on how much astigmatism you have, whether you also have nearsightedness or farsightedness, your corneal health, and how dependent you want to be on corrective lenses.
Eyeglasses for Astigmatism
Glasses are one of the simplest ways to correct astigmatism.
If you look at an eyeglass prescription, you may see several numbers, including:
- Sphere (SPH): Corrects nearsightedness or farsightedness.
- Cylinder (CYL): Indicates the amount of astigmatism correction.
- Axis: Identifies the orientation of the astigmatism and is measured from 1 to 180 degrees.
The lens does not change the shape of your eye. Instead, it redirects light to focus more accurately on the retina while you are wearing your glasses.
For many people, glasses provide excellent vision. Others may prefer contact lenses or consider vision correction to gain greater freedom from eyewear.
Contact Lenses for Astigmatism
Modern contact lenses can correct a wide range of astigmatism.
Toric Contact Lenses
Soft toric contact lenses have different powers across the lens to compensate for astigmatism. Their design also helps keep the lens positioned correctly on the eye.
Toric contact lens technology has become increasingly common. A 2024 international study analyzing more than 220,000 soft contact lens fittings found that the percentage of standard soft lens fittings using toric lenses nearly doubled between 2000 and 2023. Researchers concluded that clinically significant astigmatism is now being corrected in nearly all applicable standard soft-lens wearers included in the survey.
Rigid Gas-Permeable Contact Lenses
Some people, particularly those with irregular corneal shapes, may achieve better vision with rigid gas-permeable lenses.
Because these lenses maintain their shape rather than conforming completely to the cornea, they can sometimes provide sharper optics for certain types of astigmatism.
Orthokeratology
Orthokeratology, or Ortho-K, uses specially designed rigid lenses worn while sleeping to temporarily reshape the cornea.
Ortho-K is more commonly used for myopia management than for primary astigmatism treatment, and its effect is temporary. The cornea gradually returns toward its original shape when lens wear is discontinued.
Can LASIK Fix Astigmatism?
Yes, LASIK can correct many common forms of astigmatism, often at the same time it corrects nearsightedness or farsightedness.
During LASIK, a laser reshapes the corneal tissue in minute amounts so that light focuses more accurately on the retina. The treatment pattern can account for differences in corneal curvature rather than simply change the eye’s overall focusing power.
At West Texas Eye Associates, LASIK treatment in Lubbock uses femtosecond laser technology to create the corneal flap and an excimer laser to reshape the cornea. Wavefront-guided technology can also provide additional measurements used to customize a patient’s treatment plan.
What Does Recent Research Say About LASIK for Astigmatism?
Modern LASIK technology continues to be studied for patients with both myopia and astigmatism.
A 2025 prospective randomized clinical trial from Stanford University’s Byers Eye Institute compared wavefront-guided LASIK with topography-guided LASIK in patients with myopia or compound myopic astigmatism.
Importantly, the wavefront-guided treatments in the study were planned using the iDesign Advanced WaveScan Studio System, a technology also used by West Texas Eye Associates. At the 12-month follow-up, 100% of eyes in the wavefront-guided group achieved 20/20 or better uncorrected distance vision, compared with 98% in the topography-guided group. Researchers concluded that both approaches produced excellent clinical outcomes and predictability.
Those results do not guarantee the same outcome for every patient. Your prescription, corneal thickness, eye health, age, healing response, and other factors can all affect whether LASIK is appropriate and what result you can reasonably expect.
Who Is a Candidate for LASIK With Astigmatism?
Potential LASIK candidates are generally adults with a stable prescription and healthy corneas whose refractive error falls within the treatment range of the laser being used. Some people with astigmatism are better candidates for a different form of vision correction.
Your vision correction evaluation will look at factors including:
- Amount and type of astigmatism
- Overall glasses or contact lens prescription
- Corneal thickness
- Corneal shape and topography
- Tear film and dry eye
- Overall eye health
- Prescription stability
- Age
- Lifestyle and vision goals
What If I Am Not a LASIK Candidate?
LASIK eye surgery is only one way to reduce dependence on glasses or contacts.
West Texas Eye Associates offers multiple vision correction procedures in Lubbock, allowing your eye doctor to recommend an option based on your individual eyes rather than trying to make every patient fit LASIK.
PRK
Photorefractive keratectomy, or PRK, reshapes the cornea with an excimer laser without creating a LASIK-style corneal flap.
PRK can correct nearsightedness and astigmatism and may be considered for some patients whose corneal anatomy or lifestyle makes LASIK less desirable.
EVO ICL
For certain patients with myopia and astigmatism, an implantable lens may be another option.
EVO ICL is placed inside the eye behind the iris and in front of the natural lens rather than removing corneal tissue. West Texas Eye Associates offers EVO ICL for eligible patients with nearsightedness with or without astigmatism.
Astigmatism Correction During Cataract Surgery
Astigmatism can also be addressed during cataract surgery. For patients with cataracts and corneal astigmatism, a toric intraocular lens (IOL) may reduce the residual astigmatism after surgery.
A 2024 American Academy of Ophthalmology assessment of 21 studies found that toric monofocal IOLs produced better uncorrected distance vision and less postoperative astigmatism than nontoric monofocal lenses. The appropriate option depends on your age, cataract status, prescription, and vision goals.
Find Out If LASIK Can Correct Your Astigmatism in Lubbock
If astigmatism is keeping you dependent on glasses or contact lenses, you don’t have to guess which vision correction procedure may work for you.
West Texas Eye Associates offers free vision correction consultations in Lubbock with specialized testing to evaluate your prescription, corneal health, and candidacy for procedures such as LASIK, PRK, and EVO ICL.
Schedule a FREE consultation to find out whether LASIK can correct your astigmatism and which vision correction option best fits your eyes.