Astigmatism - A Revelation

I have recently discovered that I have astigmatism and there is nothing really revelational about that except to reveal that my local optician could not fully explain its impact to the patient (me).  Leaving the patient to discover for himself.

It was, as a teenager and electronics student, that I discovered that I was colour-blind (Discrete electronic components use colour to distinguish their value) and, unfortunately, it could have been a career-changing event if I had not seriously adapted to it (I say unfortunately, because my chosen career was a significant error). 

A decade later, a blood vessel ruptured behind the retina causing a visit to the local Emergency Room, and the additional diagnosis of macular degeneration … being a teaching hospital I immediately became the centre of study for a long time, even though, today, I remain curious that the ruptured blood vessel was responsible for the ARMD.  But I digress.  After all, later in life I earned a pilot license that required special eye tests.

Later, in my middle age, a routine medical examination caused my GP to mention the signs of cataracts, but that I was not to worry as it would be a long time before it was serious … so I took him at his word … and forgot about it ... until I met my favourite opthalmologist in China.

About five years ago, my new GP, as a result of testing poorly with the standard eye chart, advised me to visit an optician.  This produced a prescription for glasses and no verbal consultation.  There was no mention of cataracts or anything else, just the advice to buy prescription glasses.  I was already buying off-the-shelf reading glasses and, thus, assumed that the complicated magnification formulae that was written down was intended to simply assist my ability to read … so I bought a new pair of reading glasses … and continued with my life (as they say).

Last year, to cut a long story short, I had cataract surgery, which required a follow-up examination.  It is here that the word ‘astigmatism’ was first mentioned, with a strong warning that I should not drive a car.

You may. now, understand why I use the word revelation.  Apparently, I was, slightly, but legally blind and had been for some time !

I collected my new prescription glasses last week, and with the benefit of Wikipedia studies, I realized that opticians, who were personally unaffected with astigmatism, were at an important disadvantage in describing the effects to a patient.

You see, just as my brain had adjusted to colour-blindness in being able to see correctly the traffic lights or, more importantly, the difference at night between the main runway and taxiway lights, my brain had adjusted the astigmatic field of view.  My brain was telling me that everything that it could see was perfect and normal when in fact, it was not, and needed prescription lenses to show the brain the correct signals from the retina. 

	Sphere	Cylinder	Axis	Prism	Base	Add	PD
OD	0.00	-1.50	90			2.25
OS	0.00	-1.75	84			2.25

Theoretically, all objects in my field of view, for one reason or another, were slightly distorted and, therefore, each letter on the standard eye chart (for example) had left and right fuzziness, especially when I moved my head around, because both the cylinder and axis is different in both eyes.

Now, for the first time in decades, my field of view is not only wider but clearer, and my brain is still trying to adjust … when I remember to wear the glasses.   Hopefully, dear readers, this essay will create some thoughtful attention regarding visits to a skilled optician.