What Does Astigmatism Look Like? Astigmatism Lights & Night Driving

It’s not every day that you see people talking about interesting facts about eyesight. But how much do you know about your eye health? There are some who are blessed with perfect 20/20 vision, while others are completely blind.

But what about people with certain eye conditions? How can you tell if you have poor vision at all? Twitter’s recent post has spread like wildfire and fuelled responses from around the world. It’s making people question their eyesight. The below tweet shows what vision with astigmatism looks like versus vision without astigmatism.

This post intends to do some detailed analysis of the facts this tweet wants to communicate and, along the way, spread awareness about how people with astigmatism see!

Astigmatism vs Normal – How people with Astigmatism see?

Astigmatism is when the cornea is slightly curved rather than completely round..

With astigmatism, light focuses on several points of the retina rather just one point. This is what people with Astigmatisms vs without. pic.twitter.com/RXWWayFBRJ

— Unusual Facts (@UnusualFacts6) 25 March 2019

In the first image, the light from the brake lights and traffic signs appear distorted, stretching into a wide, starburst shape. This exactly indicates what astigmatism vision looks like. In the second image, the lights coming off of the traffic light appear softer and have a halo shape, which represents clear vision.

This tweet has gathered over 80,000 reactions and has convinced many people that they have vision with astigmatism. Most of the people who reacted thought the image on the left was a representation of perfect vision, and the results have shocked them. Some people with glasses thought the distorted vision was actually a normal condition.

Astigmatism Lights at Night

Due to Astigmatism the misshapen cornea or lens doesn’t allow proper light intake in your eyes. The lights get scattered instead of focusing on your retina. Therefore if you have astigmatism, you need to squint your eyes more. You may also find yourself reducing the glares of the things in front of you whenever possible.

And the interesting part is that people born with astigmatism may never know this difference until someone points that out to them. Therefore the Twitter post caught the attention of so many people with astigmatism who thought what they see is normal.
But if you are amongst those who developed astigmatism over time, you will gradually, if not instantly, know that something is wrong with your vision. It’s easy to spot the difference between astigmatism visions vs. normal vision. Astigmatism lights notoriously appear hazy with holes, glares, and streaks.

Driving at Night With Astigmatism

By now, you may understand what astigmatism vision looks like at night if the processing of lights is so distorted normally. Yes, astigmatism gets pretty worse at night. Specifically, it’s scary to drive at night with astigmatism.

Unlike daytime, there is more darkness all-around at night. So naturally, your pupils dilate to allow more light inside the eye. But with astigmatism, more light means more glare. The street lights and headlights of other vehicles help people with normal vision navigate the roads at night. But these lights become a hurdle if you have astigmatism vision.

Now you know the different effects of astigmatism at night vs. normal daytime. It’s much worse and more confusing during the night. In the next section, let’s deep dive into the solution for people driving with astigmatism at night. Keep reading if you are one of them!

Tips for Safely Driving at Night With Astigmatism

Apart from eye exercises for astigmatism treatment, your eye doctor will agree that the following tips help combat astigmatism lights at night while driving.

• Get Your Vision Corrected

Getting your vision corrected is essential since most critical decisions made by drivers are based on sight. Many drivers aren’t aware of the relationship between good vision and good driving, especially if you drive at night.

There are two vision correction options to make life easy for you. The first one is glasses. It’s a proven solution for astigmatism at night. Otherwise, you can get toric lenses. However, you may need some time to get used to them. Figure out what works best for you with the help of your eye doctor.

• Wear Anti-Reflector Glasses

If you choose good old glasses for astigmatism at night, get anti-reflector ones. They are much less likely to intensify glare than other corrective lenses. They can also help cut down on poor vision in low light, helping you drive at night.

If you already wear glasses and think you are comfortable in them, try the anti-reflectors glasses and know the difference.

• Use Contact Moisturizing Drops

Having to deal with painful, irritated eyes while driving can be not only annoying but also dangerous. Toric lenses for astigmatism often result in dry eyes. Driving at night can also result in a glare that reflects off the dry, irregular surface of the cornea.

If you wear contact lenses to correct astigmatism, use contact moisturizing drops to prevent drying your toric lenses.

• Get a LASIK Eye Surgery

LASIK eye surgery refers to laser eye surgery and vision correction. It’s considered the permanent solution to the everyday annoyances of dealing with corrective lenses when you have astigmatism.

With a quick recovery rate, LASIK eye surgery can save you money on the annual costs of glasses and contact lenses. And more importantly, it will help you with a better vision to allow you to drive safely.

Parting Words

Driving at night with astigmatism is a severe life hazard. Therefore, you must not only do your own vision analysis. You also must show these pictures to your family members and loved ones to check which image they identify with.

The issue of astigmatism lights can easily be resolved with solutions like glasses, toric lenses, and LASIK eye surgery. Also, an eye exam is important not just to correct astigmatism vision but it is to safeguard your overall health and wellness.

Don’t put it off for any longer. A doctor of optometry can diagnose astigmatism. Schedule an appointment at InSight Vision Center in Fresno, CA with an experienced optometrist to correct your vision.

Image Source: Unusual Facts