People Realize They Have Astigmatism Because Of Viral Photo

We mostly rely on our sight, hence the saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” However, a set of interesting comparison photos is going viral for showing people that they can’t always believe their eyes. The pictures show how someone with astigmatism would view the world. Not surprisingly, netizens are realizing that they have the condition.

The Twitter account Unusual Facts posted the two photos side by side. One image shows traffic lights reflecting in an angle while the other features the lights with a round aura. Can you tell which picture depicts what a person with astigmatism sees?

Here’s the truly eye-opening tweet.

Astigmatism is a refractive condition that occurs when the cornea (the front surface of the eye) or the lens inside the eye has mismatched curves. Normally, both the cornea and lens are curved in a rounded shape. However, people with astigmatism have one of these elements in an egg shape.

The rounded shape of the cornea and lens in a normal eye would refract any incoming light to produce a sharply focused image on the retina. For an eye with a refractive error, the mismatched curves in the eye prevent the light rays from bending properly. This results in a blurry image.

This is what you would see if you have astigmatism.

There are two types of astigmatism. Corneal astigmatism has mismatched curves in the cornea while lenticular astigmatism has mismatched curves in the lens. Both cause blurry vision but can occur more horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Interestingly, astigmatism occurs in 1 out of 3 people in the United States alone. This is probably why people started freaking out over the photos.

If you believe you have astigmatism, it would be best to check with a professional as soon as possible. Refractive errors are the first cause of visual impairments and the second cause of visual loss worldwide.

Uncorrected refractive errors can lead to blindness so schedule an appointment with your optometrist.