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Medical Author:

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist. Dr. Dahl's educational background includes a BA with Honors and Distinction from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, and an MD from Cornell University, where he was selected for Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. He had an internal medical internship at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Most astigmatism does not have a recognized cause but merely is an anatomical imperfection in the shape of the cornea, where the front curvature of the cornea is toric, rather than spherical. A small amount of astigmatism is considered normal and does not represent a disease of the eye. This type of astigmatism is extremely common and frequently is present at birth or has its onset during childhood or young adulthood. There is some hereditary basis to most cases of astigmatism, and most people with astigmatism have it in both eyes. Astigmatism is often associated with myopia (nearsightedness) or hyperopia (farsightedness). Astigmatism can increase in amount during the growing years.

In regular astigmatism, the meridians in which the two different curves lie are located 90 degrees apart. Most astigmatism is regular. In irregular astigmatism, the two meridians may be located at something other than 90 degrees apart or there are more than two meridians.

A scar in the cornea, resulting from an injury or infection, or a disease called keratoconus may also cause astigmatism. This type of astigmatism is usually irregular.

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