Astigmatism: what is it? How to treat astigmatism at home?

Healthy eyes and excellent vision is the dream of every person. But not everyone can boast of this. Practically every person has this or that disease of the eye. And in this article we will consider a disease such as astigmatism: what it is, how to treat and how to avoid it.

What is astigmatism?

Astigmatism is one of the main causes of visual impairment. It can occur in combination with hyperopia and myopia.

From the Latin language, astigmatism can be translated as "the absence of a focal point."

In a healthy eye, the lens and cornea have an even surface of the sphere. When astigmatism occurs, their sphericity is disturbed. Curvature is formed in different directions.

The refractive force in the cornea is different in different places, so when the light rays pass through such a cornea, a distorted image is obtained. Part of the image can focus on the retina, part - before or behind it. The final image that a person sees becomes blurred, distorted.

To make it easier to imagine what the image looks like with astigmatism, you can look at your reflection in an oval spoon. This is how the distortion occurs. And how to treat astigmatism, we will consider later.

Causes of the disease

To learn how to treat astigmatism of the eye, you first need to know the causes of this disease.

So, the main reason for the occurrence 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 like a melon, that is, slightly convex on one side. Light rays, passing through such a curved cornea, focus on the retina at several points (and should be in one). Therefore, the image becomes fuzzy.

In addition, astigmatism can occur against the background of myopia or hyperopia.

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 cure.

Most often, astigmatism is inherited. Therefore, its signs can be identified even in childhood. Children can complain about eye fatigue, they can constantly blink, which indicates a decrease in vision, with eye strain blush. If parents notice these signs from their child, then it is necessary to urgently show it to the doctor to learn how to treat astigmatism in children.

In addition, children should be checked by a doctor, if such a disease exists at least one of the parents. If children's astigmatism is left without treatment, then there is a risk of diminishing vision, which can not be corrected, that is, the development of amblyopia. Therefore, it is extremely important to check the eyesight of the child in a timely manner from a doctor who, in case of illness, will give clear recommendations on how to treat astigmatism in children's eyes.

Among other signs of the disease can be identified the following:

1. The outlines of things are distorted.
2. In the eyes of the double, even with small physical exertion.
3. Things have fuzzy boundaries.
4. Frequent headaches.
5. Increases eye fatigue even with low loads.

There are three periods of astigmatism - weak, medium, high. In the case of a weak period, eye damage occurs to no more than one diopter. In this case, vision is practically not worsened and treatment is not required. With an average and high period, doctors' intervention is already necessary.

Myopia and hyperopia are the true companions of astigmatism. As a rule, along with astigmatism, there is one thing, but sometimes there are signs of both diseases.

Types of astigmatism

Many people ask themselves: "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 species, based on the presence of myopia or farsightedness in one or two main meridians of the eye.

So, astigmatism is of the following types:

1. Hypermethropic simple. In this form, one major meridian is affected by hyperopia, and the second in a normal state (emmetropia).
2. Hypermetropic complex. In this case, hyperopia in both the meridians of the eye.
3. Myopic simple. In this form, one major meridian is affected by myopia, and the second in the normal state (emmetropia).
4. Myopic complex. In this case, shortsightedness is in both meridians.
5. Mixed. With this kind of astigmatism in the main meridians, short-sightedness and farsightedness are observed.

Types of astigmatism

In order to know how to treat astigmatism, in addition to its kind, it is necessary to determine the degree. For this purpose, in the 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, astigmatism is of three types:

1. Straight - the vertical meridian has the greatest refractive power. The patient with this type of disease more clearly perceives the vertical lines. This type is diagnosed most often.
2. The reverse is the greatest refractive force in the horizontal meridian. In this case, the person sees more precisely the horizontal lines. This type of astigmatism is diagnosed extremely rarely, but vision in this case decreases more rapidly and faster. This is because a person lives in a vertically oriented world.
3. Astigmatism with oblique axes. The patient does not see both the horizontal and vertical lines.

Degrees of astigmatism

And, finally, another important criterion that needs to be considered before deciding how to treat astigmatism is the degree of the disease.

So, ophthalmologists distinguish three main degrees of astigmatism:

1. Weak degree (up to 3 diopters). This degree of disease occurs most often, it can be treated with the help of all known methods (glasses, contact lenses, laser correction).
2. The average degree (from 3 to 6 diopters). This degree is less common. To correct it, you can not use glasses. In this case, you can apply contact lenses, laser vision correction or surgery.
3. High degree (more than 6 diopters). The cause of such a high degree of astigmatism can be severe changes in the cornea. For treatment use rigid contact lenses, and also combine laser and surgical correction of vision.

It becomes clear that the higher the degree of the disease, the worse vision deteriorates, and the more difficult it is to fix it. Many people want to learn how to treat astigmatism at home. Consider these and other methods of treatment a little lower.

What is the danger of astigmatism?

Many people who notice the first signs of astigmatism do not rush to the doctor. And very vain. Absence of treatment can lead to frequent headaches and cuts in the eyes. Childish astigmatism is especially dangerous. Without quality treatment, the child may develop strabismus and sharply fall eyesight. 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 the benefit from them will be only if carried out in conjunction with quality medical treatment.

Prevention of disease

Of course, it is easier to prevent the disease than to treat it. But people forget or simply neglect all methods of preventing diseases until it touches them personally.

Prevention of astigmatism is very simple, it does not take much time and effort, but will preserve health for many years.

So, in order to avoid such a disease as astigmatism, it's enough to simply alternate work with a big load on the eyes with rest.

Very carefully choose the lighting of the workplace. It is better to place the lamp in front or to the left of the person. Lighting in the room should be one hundred percent, because when the view is transferred from the lighter part of the room to the darker one, the eyes get tired faster.

These simple tips will help to keep your eyesight for many years.

Correction of astigmatism with the help of glasses

For ocular correction of astigmatism, ophthalmologists designate special "complex" glasses. They insert cylindrical lenses. If the patient has a high degree of disease, 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 properly select the necessary glasses. Unfortunately, it often happens that patients have to change their glasses several times to get rid of discomfort.

Correction of astigmatism with the help of contact lenses

For a long time it was thought that astigmatism can be treated only with the use of hard contact lenses. But they were very uncomfortable in the process of wearing and very badly affected the cornea. However, medicine and science do not stand still, and today more convenient and safe toric lenses are used to correct astigmatism.

Treatment of the disease in the home

So, how to treat astigmatism in adults at home? There are several simple recipes.

1. Tincture of blueberry leaves. To prepare you need three teaspoons of blueberry leaves pour a liter of boiling water, insist for an hour and strain. During the day, tincture should be drunk, divided into equal doses. Take before meals. In addition, fresh blueberries and jam from it are very useful for sight.
2. Splashing with water. A very simple method that will improve blood circulation in the eyes. It is necessary to splash the ice water several times in a row.
3. Cherries. It is very useful for the treatment of astigmatism to eat cherries, the main thing is not to overdo it. In addition, you can do on the eyes of small compresses of berries of sweet cherry.
4. 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 sight. With astigmatism, fresh juice from vegetables will be a great help. But it is important to remember that 500 ml of juice a day will suffice for children. Otherwise, allergies may occur.

Exercises for the treatment of astigmatism

There are several simple exercises that will help to cure astigmatism yourself at home.

1. Sitting should be exactly, keep your head straight. Eyes first look to the right and down. Sit for a while. Then you need to look left and down. Repeat 5-6 times.
2. In the same position, you should look at the tip of your nose until your eyes get a little tired. Then you need to do a few rotational movements to the right and left. Repeat 5-6 times.
3. It is very useful for the eyes daily massage with pads of fingers.

Conclusion

In the article, we examined in detail astigmatism: what is it, how to treat and how to avoid this disease. Adhere to simple tips, and your eyesight will always be one hundred percent!