What causes astigmatism?
According to Lenstore, astigmatism can occur for a number of reasons.
The expert explained: “Astigmatism is caused when the cornea or the lens of the eye are not shaped regularly.
‘This means the light enters the eye at the wrong curvature and distorts the image of an object.
“The refractive error can be present either at birth and remain unnoticeable during life or intensify at a later age, or it can be developed after an eye injury, eye disease or eye surgery.”
In some cases, scarring or injury can change the shape of the cornea, resulting in astigmatism.
This is also the case if an eye surgery causes scarring on the eye.
In other cases, astigmatism can be caused by disease.
An example of this is keratoconus, which is a disease that causes the cornea to slowly grow thinner over time.
According to the NHS, teenagers with astigmatism should have frequent check-ups to ensure keratoconus does not develop.
