Berkeley Parents Network: Astigmatism

Berkeley Parents Network

Astigmatism

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Health & Medical > Astigmatism

See also: Eye Conditions and Ophthalmologists

October 2003

We have just found out my 5 1/2 yr daughter has an astigmatism. Does anyone know if this means she will need to wear glasses for sure? Whta have been other people's experience with this? Thank you

Regarding your 5.5 yr old with astigmatism.. How much she needs to wear her glasses really depends on the amount of astigmatism that she has, and what her visual acuity is with and without glasses (and without squinting). If the amount of astigmatism is greater than about 1 diopter part time use is often recommended, and greater than about 2 diopters full time (or almost fulltime). Doctor's opinions may vary on this, and nobody here can be specific in our recommendations because we haven't seen your daughter as a patient! Her astigmatism is not likely to go away (in contrast, a 1 yr old child's astigmatism may go away). anon

I was diagnosed with an astigmatism and myopia (near-sightedness) at 7 1/2. My father had the same condition, and I inherited it from him. The astigmatism causes a distortion in the vision- I believe that the lens is 'warped', and as far as I know there is no treatment for it. It's different than near-sightedness or far-sightedness where the lens is either too flat or too round and the light rays fall short of or past the retina causing focus problems.

I was freaked out that I was going to have to wear glasses- I didn't like the idea of being dependent on them. But one of my clearest childhood memories is of coming out of the optician's office and being able to see again. It was winter and the tree branches were bare and I could see their crisp detail with a thin coating of ice. It was wonderful.

Wearing glasses isn't so bad, and not being able to see clearly is. Besides, they make adorable kid's glasses now as opposed to the grim things I had to wear way back then! Cece

You'll probably get more learned responses than this one, but here's my take -- as a nearsighted glasses/contacts wearer with astigmatism in both eyes but to different degrees. Nearsighted and farsightedness are general focus problems; you need a lens to make a sharp image. Astigmatism is, like, a curviness. Think fun house mirror. A distortion. Whether it needs to be corrected depends on how severe it is. Mine comes and goes. I have had times when I needed a toric (astigmatism-correcting) contact for both eyes, and times when only one needed it. Your pediatrician should be able to advise you.

Dear mom, I'm curious as to why you didn't ask your doctor this question. He/She would be the most knowledgable about your daughter's condition. Many factors are involved in order to answer your question properly.Such as family history, dioptric value of the astigmatism ,visual acuity and if there are any associated factors such as anisometropia, amblyopia or strabismus. If you are not comfortable with your doctor a second opinion is always a good idea. UC Berkeley has an excellent pediatric optometry clinic(642-2020). By the way, astigmatism isn't a disease, it's in the same category as other refractive errors such as myopia and hyperopia. Try not to worry, there's always contacts and the frames for kids are really cute now.

A pediatric optometrist and mom

I was diagnosed with astigmatism when I was 6 years old. I wore those blue pointy glasses with faux diamonds. Quite lovely but I hated them. By the time I was 8 yrs old the doc in our new town said I didn't need the glasses anymore. Now I am 42 and I am the only sib out of 5 that doesn't need glasses. I still have a slight astigmatism, but not enough to need glasses still. Soooo, you never can tell what may happen. ANd glasses aren't so bad these days. There are many more choices than there were in the early 70s! suzanne

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