Eyesight / Astigmatism / Axis on eye test

[JustLaura]

I'm experiencing eye issues. Been for 2 eye tests recently as wasn't completely happy with my first test.

I have astigmatism in both eyes - axis 70 and axis 120.

Can anyone explain how this might feel to me when I'm NOT wearing glasses? I'd like to check if its the same as I'm experiencing.

Related or not - the 2nd Optician said I have very dry eyes so need to use eye drops. No real change as of yet.

I have had an emotionally turbulent year so have been crying a lot . Would crying cause issues?
My tears sting my eyes when I cry.

I'm late 40s and Perimenopausal.

Do you just have an astigmatism or are you short/long sighted too? What is the extent of the astigmatism?

On the prescription it reads axis 70 and 120 so that's an astigmatism isn't it?

I'm short sighted too

There's normally a + or - number beside the axis to show how big the astigmatism is. The axis shows where the astigmatism is.

What is the full prescription?

I have astigmatism and my prescription is -2 in one eye and -2.5 in the other.
Basically I struggle to see detail in the distance. So a road sign or poster - I can see the sign or poster but can't read the text. Watching TV without my glasses is kind of slightly soft and fuzzy.

Hi @JustLaura I have astigmatism too, but can't remember my prescription (and actually, I have to get checked again soon so it may have varied). I'm also slightly short sighted. When I don't wear my glasses I see life like an impressionist picture (that's the romantic in me talking 😂): kind of diffuse, not clear, the edges of things blurr with eachother. Need to squeeze my eyes if I want to read. At night, bright lights bother me.

What kind of issues are you having? I've recently discovered what occular migraines are: had been suffering them but didn't know what they were and it was quite alarming at first.

On my prescription it shows +1 as the extent of my astigmatism and then it shows the axis. I am long sighted though so my sight won't correlate with yours

My prescription was affected by menopause - my prescription seems to get affected by hormones as it was the same when I was pregnant. So annoying! I’m -8.5 and +2.0 with an astigmatism.

OP dry eyes is a meno problem. Mine were terrible. HRT has helped and also sea buckthorn capsules. Plus the really strong eye drops that you can wear with contact lenses.

Thanks for the replies.

Still confused on the axis/astigmatism.

Can dry eyes feel like you have sleep in your eyes?

I did not know I have dry eyes, my only symptoms is stinging tears.

Can dry eyes cause issues? I know this van being Perimenopause now though!

Here are my latest readings: (different to eye test a few months ago when I was dubious about the prescription):

Sph -3.75 (right eye)
Sph -3.00 (left eye)

Cyl -1.00
Cyl -0.25

Axis 70
Axis 120

BVD= 12 (no idea what that is)

Thanks @dementedpixie

I've added my prescription on a separate post

Thanks @nookmiles

Does it seem wildly different with and without glasses?

Thanks @MsNeis

It feels wildly different with and without glasses now.

I feel as though there's sleep in my right eye more than anything. Bit of a poky feeling at times too.

Latest Optician said I have very dry eyes (both). Asked if I rub them a lot (No). Gave me eye drops to try but they don't seem to make any difference but I don't know if they do to other people?

Thanks @Lobstercrisps

I've read watery eyes are a symptom of dry eyes but mine don't seem to water?

I feel as though there is sleep in my eye at times, possibly a bit gritty occasionally and a bit pokey.

Did you diagnose it following symptoms?

Well for me, dry eyes manifests as my eyelid sticking to my eyeball when I rub my eyes! So self diagnosed really! My eyes don't water.

Optician always tells me I have dry eyes though even when I don't think they are so bad.

I've always had astigmatism and I rarely wear my glasses the only time it bothers me is driving at night because of the halo star around lights, an absolute nightmare if you come up to roadworks with billions of lights

@HPandthelastwish

Oh I get that! As though some headlights are 6ft tall too!

I wonder if the poky feeling I sometimes get is related to dry eyes not the astigmatism then?

Does it mean I'm a bit cross eyed? Is it the axis reading that indicates it? Mine are 120 and 70.

Astigmatism isn't cross eyed it's a rugby ball shaped lens instead of a spherical one and the coordinate indicates where it's located. It then means you process light differently hence the issue with night driving. You may find yourself squinting as it can help a bit.

Bit I don't have dry eyes or a stinging feeling that's a different issue

Dry eyes feel gritty and can water a lot especially outside in cold weather. Use good eyedrops as often as you need to. Hycosan is often recommended and carmellose. Try and get preservative free ones. Hot compress may help. You can get microwave ones in supermarkets, pharmacy or Amazon that you use for about 10 mins.

Whenever I experienced dry eyes I felt irritation and also stinging.
Could it be something related to the nerves rather than the eye itself?

@JustLaura Most astigmatism is caused by the cornea having irregular curvature this means that your lens needs to be different power in one plane than the other. To try and explain it If you think of a cross shape things horizontally require a different power of lens to things vertically.

So you have a spherical lens, using your right eye as an example is -3.75 , the minus sign indicates short sight the 3.75 is the power of the lens needed.
The amount of astigmatism in your right eye is -1 which means that at a certain axis you need an extra 1 dioptre in lens strength this needs a cylindrical lens to correct it . A cylindrical lens only gives correction in certain planes. The axis of 70 degrees means that it gives no extra power at an axis of 70 degrees and the maximum extra power of -1 at 90 degrees to it’s axis in this case 160 degrees.

If you don’t wear your glasses with astigmatism things will be blurred but can also appear distorted for example stretched out or squashed in one plane.

The difference in axis of astigmatism between the two eyes show the position of the cyl lens needed and is not related to your eyes being crossed.

Dry eyes will often feel gritty and sore and you can get some blurring from dry eyes and the drops should make them feel more comfortable. Dry eyes are common and happen because your tear film is not sufficient or is evaporating too quickly and depending on the type of eye drop may just be adding moisture or also slowing down the evaporation.

Attached is a picture showing the axis of astigmatism

Thanks for your reply @TheOliveFinch this really explains it

Astigmatism and dry eyes are completely unrelated.

Symptoms of dry eyes can be any or all of the following. Some people have none of them!

Gritty, burning, watery, foreign body sensation, blurred vision, stinging, stringy discharge.

If the optometrist says that your eye are dry, then they are. We have look at thigs like tear volume to tell.

There are many drops for dry eye. You want one containing sodium hyaluronate, put them in around 4 times a day.

Astigmatism is a very normal part of a eye prescription, it's very unusual NOT to have astigmatism. Uncorrected astigmatism doesn't cause gritty eyes, but it can cause a bit of eyestrain.

Thanks @mistymorning12

I was shocked as the previous optometrist never mentioned it despite me raising concern and asking questions.

The second optometrist did a thorough examination.

I'm using Hycosan extra eye drops but I'm sure he said once a day as they are really thick and the best there are?

So would dry eyes explain my stinging tears when I cry?

Presumably this is all normal for late 40s?

Hycosan extra are very viscous but most lubricating drops you would put in about 4 times a day. I prefer drops containing a lipid and my favourite are Cationorm , it is about finding what suits you the usual recommendation is to avoid drops with a preservative as they can often cause irritation.