Astigmatism 101: Here’s how Astigmatism can cause Vision Changes at Night and Driving Problems

Introduction to astigmatism and what does astigmatism do?

Astigmatism is a common vision condition. Astigmatism is caused by a curvature of the cornea or lens, which cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.

The astigmatic eye has multiple focal points instead of one focal point, causing blurred near and far vision.

Therefore, when you are driving at night, there will be no difference between your distance from the headlights of cars ahead and how bright they appear to you on the road.

And during daytime, make sure to protect your eyes with the prescribed sunglasses. You can check for Goodr coupon to avail discounts for frames of your prescribed lenses.”

How does astigmatism affect your vision at night?

Astigmatism at night can get problematic for many people, especially for those who love driving during those hours. If you have astigmatism, your eye is not perfectly round.

This irregularity causes light to be focused differently depending on how it enters the eye. The result is blurred vision at night and possible double vision during driving conditions that require focusing on objects close to or far away from you.

You might start seeing glares near street lights which may distract you and cause discomfort in your driving experience. This can be extremely dangerous and may increase the chances of your accidents.

Focus on Your Vision  

If you start having problems while driving at night or feel that you are experiencing the symptoms of astigmatism, you should contact your local eye specialist.

Your eye specialist will conduct an eye exam, and if the results show that you have astigmatism, he might suggest you to go for the following remedies: 

1. Eyeglasses and Contact Lenses

Wear glasses or contact lenses. If you wear glasses or contacts, get a pair that corrects your astigmatism and wear them every day.

Use astigmatism glasses at night. If you don’t wear contacts during the day, ask your doctor about getting some for use just before bedtime. Make sure to always keep your contact lenses clean.

These are called “night” or “sleep” soft contact lenses. They will keep the front surface of each eye clear and prevent any focusing problems while you sleep. They can also help you reshape the cornea, and some people like to call them Overnight contact lenses. 

2. Eyedrops

People who wear contact lenses may need eyedrops because dryness can make you feel uncomfortable while wearing contact lenses, and it may also affect your vision. This affects your clarity, and hence it is recommended to get eyedrops that can help you with your contacts and astigmatism. 

3. Surgery

In some cases, surgery may be needed to treat astigmatism in order to improve vision at night and possibly during the day as well.

Some people with severe eye problems may need this type of treatment. Doctors usually recommend going for LASIK eye surgery, in which astigmatism is fixed by removing tissue from the inner layer of your cornea. Candidates which aren’t eligible for getting LASIK usually go for photorefractive keratectomy. 

4. Orthokeratology

This is a temporary solution to fix astigmatism, so many people don’t go for it; however, Orthokeratology are rigid contacts that can help reshape your cornea for a limited time period. When you stop wearing the contacts, the eye shape goes back to its earlier shape. 

What effect can astigmatism have on night driving? 

Astigmatism can have several effects on night driving, including:

Blurred vision at night:  Astigmatism can cause blurred vision in low light, making it harder to see signs and other objects.

This could affect your ability to read street signs, navigate without a GPS and be aware of other drivers around you.

Reduced depth perception at night: Depth perception is the ability to perceive how far away an object is from your eyes by using cues like size and distance between objects; astigmatism can reduce this ability due to its effect on blurriness.

This may make judging the distance from your car’s hood to another car’s bumper difficult when backing out of parking spaces or lane changes during nighttime driving conditions (especially if you have only one eye that’s affected).

Problems with side vision at night : Because astigmatism causes blurring on close-up objects but not faraway ones, it may be easier for people with this condition to drive straight than turn corners or check their blind spots when approaching intersections or merging onto busy streets.

These actions require good peripheral vision, which is impaired by astigmatism during nighttime hours due to reduced visibility due to lack of ambient light sources like street lamps or headlights (which illuminate more brightly than moonlight).

Focus on Your Car

When you’re driving at night, there are a few things that can help your vision to focus:

1. Clean windshields, windows, and mirrors. Try to dim your dashboard. 

First, make sure the windshields, windows and mirrors on your car are clean. This will allow for better vision.

Also, dimming your dashboard lights can help decrease strain on your eyes as well as reduce glare from other vehicles’ headlights that may be coming toward you on the road ahead of you.

2. Clean your headlights

Clean off any dirt or debris that may be clouding up your headlights so they can provide a clearer view of what is ahead and around them while driving at night.

A good rule of thumb when it comes to cleaning headlights is to start at home before heading out on the road in order to avoid having anything obstructing them.

This can help you to see clearly and prevent accidents that could have happened if you didn’t clean them. 

3. Use the night setting on your rearview mirror

This feature might be limited to very few cars; however, using the night setting on your rearview mirror allows you to reduce the glare which comes from the cars behind you. 

4. Decrease your speed

When you have problems with your vision driving fast can increase the chances of accidents. Hence, it would help if you decreased your speed to focus better on the objects near you. 

5. Skip the yellow-tinted glasses

Glasses with a yellow tint are marketed by saying that they help to improve your vision at night. However, this hasn’t been proven, and some people instead find it hard to focus while wearing them. Therefore, you should skip getting the yellow-tinted glasses. 

Conclusion

Astigmatism is a condition which can affect your night vision. If you have astigmatism, it is important to take care of your eyesight and ensure that your vision does not become worse.

This can be achieved through regular eye exams, wearing glasses when necessary, using contact lenses for nearsightedness or farsightedness and seeing an optician regularly.

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