05/20/2026
May is Healthy Vision Month!
Astigmatism is an imperfection in the normal curvature of your eye’s cornea or lens. To understand astigmatism, it is helpful to think of the normal eye as evenly rounded, like a basketball. With astigmatism, the eye is egg- or oval-shaped like a North American football. There are two basic types of astigmatism:
horizontal astigmatism (an eye wider than it is tall)
vertical astigmatism (an eye taller than it is wide)
With either type of astigmatism, near and far vision is blurry because of the eye’s irregular shape. It is a myth that reading in low light or sitting very close to the television causes astigmatism or makes it worse.
Learn more: https://www.aao.org/eye-health/astigmatism
Blurry vision? It might be astigmatism—but not all cases are the same. Learn the real causes, symptoms, and treatment options.
