"Doctor...I have the stigma"

I can't tell you how many patients that tell me they have the "stigma" and are quite sure they are going to go blind in the next few years. 

The correct word is Astigmatism and it's merely one component of an eyeglass prescription that changes the focus of how light enters your eye. It's due to the football shaped surface of your eye that focuses light off the sharpest center of focus on the retina. 

Approximately 85 to 90 percent of patients have astigmatism. The other "old wives tale" that I usually hear from my astigmatism patients is that they can't wear contact lenses for their correction. This is absolutely false! Updates in contact lens technology offer fantastic vision correction for patients with astigmatism...we even have bifocal astigmatism contact lens options! 

So, don't panic if you're told you have astigmatism at your next appointment. And, don't be afraid to ask for contact lens correction if glasses aren't for you!