Talk to me about astigmatism please

[Kerplunkk]

Optician told me last year that ds had a slight prescription and they would see how things were at next appointment, roll on to this appoint and they say that again there’s a slight prescription but seen as he’s coming up to year 1 it may start to become more noticeable (headaches etc) with the increased work so they’ll give him glasses for 6 months just to see how he goes.
Went for the fitting today and the optician said oh not to worry he just had a slight astigmatism,
I’ve googled it and it doesn’t seem like the type of thing that goes away in 6 months
Can anyone offer any words of wisdom or advice please?

Do you have a copy of the prescription?
Astigmatism is more about the shape of the eye/cornea and causes issues with ability to focus.
What age are they?

No they just gave the glasses, haven’t ever had glasses myself so we unsure of the protocol.
Ds is 5

During the eye test the only thing he had problem with was the bottom line, specifically 2 pictures.

Astigmatism is where the eyeball is slightly more rugby ball shaped than spherical. I've got it and the only thing it's ever changed for me is that I get a different kind of contact lens that's better suited for the eye shape.

I have one in my right eye. How old is your child? I took my DD a few months ago and she’s five, the optician said children’s eyes can change a lot at this age and not to worry.

I'd ask for a copy of the prescription if you're going back. It's always handy to have. My optician always gives a copy to take away.

Did they say whether they are long or short sighted?

I’m fairly certain they said he’s short sighted.
Thanks everyone, I was a bit horrified after having a Google so reassuring to hear others experiences

My dd is long sighted with a slight astigmatism and has worn glasses since she was 18 months old

It just means that one bit of the cornea is more/less short-sighted than the other side. As the eye changes quite a lot in childhood, levels of astigmatism change too.

It’s actually very unusual NOT to have astigmatism at some level around 90% of the population do.

Astigmatism is a very common thing to have. There's nothing to be horrified ablut, it just means they need glasses!

Grown up with astigmatism as well as short sight here. Short sight no problem, once I had the right prescription spectacles and contact lenses. The astigmatism has been okay most of the time except when driving at night when it's raining. The multiple shimmers of light are bewildering. Upside is that if we're coming back from somewhere after dark, DP knows without even asking about it that he will be the Designated Driver!