Dr. Hitesh K. Patel Discusses The Latest Treatments For Astigmatism

July 7, 2010 - PRLog -- Edison, NJ - Astigmatism is an eye condition in which the unequal curvature of the cornea prevents light rays from focusing clearly at one point on the retina, resulting in blurred vision. This type of condition is also known as a refractive error, and occurs in nearly everyone to some degree. If the cornea is significantly curved, the condition must be treated.

A person’s eye is naturally spherical in shape. In the normal eye, light enters light is refracted evenly, resulting in a clear view of the person’s surroundings. With astigmatism, the person’s eye is shaped more like a football, or oblong. When light enters the astigmatic eye, it is refracted more in one direction than the other, allowing only part of the object to be in focus at one time. Objects at any distance can appear blurry and wavy.
Astigmatism can be hereditary and is often present at birth. It can also be the result of pressure from the eyelids on the cornea.

People with undetected astigmatism often experience headaches, fatigue, eyestrain and blurred vision at all distances. While these symptoms may not necessarily be the result of astigmatism, you should schedule an eye exam if you are experiencing one or more symptoms.

Astigmatism can only be diagnosed with a thorough eye exam by your ophthalmologist. Astigmatism may occur with other refractive errors such as myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness). Astigmatism sometimes goes undetected in school-age children.

Because astigmatism may progress slowly, you should visit your ophthalmologist for an eye exam once a year. Ophthalmologists can provide total eye care, from examinations and vision correction to the diagnosis and treatment of disease through medication and surgery.

Almost all degrees of astigmatism can be corrected with properly prescribed glasses or lenses. For a person with only a slight degree of astigmatism, corrective lenses may not be needed at all, as long as other conditions such as nearsightedness or farsightedness are not present. If the astigmatism is moderate to high, however, corrective lenses are probably needed.

I am one of a small number of ophthalmologists who treat keratoconus (irregular astigmatism where the cornea is cone shaped) with a special hybrid contact lens made by syergeyes (combination of hard and soft lens). Traditional hard lenses which are normally used for keratoconus can often be uncomfortable, but this breakthrough technology has made it much easier to fit these patients for contact lenses, and allows for improvement of best corrected vision over glasses for people with keratoconus.  

For moderate to high astigmatism, special corrective lenses called toric lenses are prescribed. Toric lenses have greater light bending power in one direction than the other. After performing various tests, your eye doctor will determine the ideal toric lens prescription for your astigmatism.

For more information on the diagnosis and treatment for astigmatism, visit www.pateleyeassociates.com or contact Patel Eye Associates at (732) 985-5009.

Dr. Hitesh K. Patel is the founder of "Patel Eye Associates" and "Patel Eye Care and Rehabilitation Foundation".

His practice focus is cataract and Lasik surgery. In addition, he treats diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma medically and with lasers. He also does routine eye exams. Dr. Patel has been in practice for 12 years in the Northeast.

Dr. Patel did his residency at UMDNJ and The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. His internship was completed at the The Crozer Chester Medical Center. Dr. Patel completed his medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1993, and finished at the top his class. His undergraduate degree (B.S.) was done at The Pennsylvania State University in 1993, with distinction. Dr. Patel finished his high school as Valedictorian at Neshaminy High School in Pennsylvania.