Opticians please, astigmatism leap

[UriGeller]

Hi, Can anyone explain please what this means? my son has astigmatism with one eye -8.25 and the other -8.00 which as increased from -7.50 and -7.25 when tested last year. Will it keep getting worse?

[Johnogroats]

Sounds similar to me. I am very short sighted and need contacts or glasses...other than that I am fine! I have had similar sight all my life so just minor variations in prescription. I would say he'd be unlikely to keep getting worse, but I am not an expert.

[BasketzatDawn]

Not an optician or anything relevant, just a mum with various sons with eye defects and with astigmatism myself. My understanding is with children it can get worse, but does tend to stabilise at some point. You don't say what age your son is. My youngest has short-sighted astigmatism, though less than yours. He's now 15.In early adolescence it got a bit worse then seemed to stabilise.

I think some of the opticians websites, eg Specsaver, have info on prescriptions and you may get answers from there. BUT you'd be far better trying to have a chat with the optician who tested your son and asking him/her.

BTW it's the cyl power (put as 'cyl' or 'cylinder' on the prescription form)that indicates how bad the astigmatism is, which is the curvature of the eyeball. They are meant to be like a football, but in astigmatics are more like a rugby ball. Cyl power and degree of myopia are lightly different, I think. I have a moderate degree of shortsightedness (around - 5 to -6) but cyl power which is high. This means things are blurred wherever they are without my specs.

[UriGeller]

Thanks, that's some interesting info. He's 24, was diagnosed at 9 and its got steadily worse but never by a full point leap! So the -8 number is his myopia not necessarily the "cyl" then? I haven't seen his prescription as he lives in a different city but we've always been told at some point it'll just stop getting any worse. First time it was in his teens, then early twenties, now they say late twenties!

[ilovepowerhoop]

the -8.25 and -8.0 is the degree of myopia, not anything to do with astigmatism (there will be a separate figure on the prescription for that).

[ilovepowerhoop]

www.specsavers.co.uk/eye-health/eye-test/your-prescription

[MeYeahMe]

My prescription is -7.5 in both eyes, I'm 33. This is the first year my prescription hasn't worsened, so I'm hoping it's now stablised (one eye was -0.5 than the other until about two years ago, they seem to have evened out now).

I've needed glasses since I was 15 when I was tested as around -1.25L/1.75R. My prescription has tended to deteriorate at about -0.5 per year, some years -0.25

As ilove says, the figure you're quoting has nothing to do with the astigmatism, that is the cyl measurement. I don't think a cyl measurement would be that high.

[UriGeller]

Thanks all, I got him to send me his script, and his cyl has changed 0.5 in one eye, but overall his eyesight is worse. Time to start badgering him to have the laser surgery again I think.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Not if his eyesight is still unstable. Laser surgery won't do anything to stop the deterioration.