Do i have astigmatism? i have been seeing flashing lights in my vision (for a year now) and now i am starting to get a blurred vision in my right eye; starting from the outside corner. my school nurse had me flush my eye out this morning but that only hel

Astigmatism : Astigmatism is due to the shape of the eye and is usually present at a young age. This problem sounds more acute to me and i would seek the advise of an ophthamologist at this point. You need a good retinal exam to rule out why the outside corner of the eye is blurred. The fact that you have flashing lights is a retinal symptom and not astigmatism. You may have a retinal tear or detachment and this should be checked asap. It might be vitrerous floaters which is a benign condition, but this is not astigmatism. Ask your gp for the name of a general ophthalmogist and when you call alert the staff to your symptoms. Best of luck.

To : To clarify, astigmatism is what we call a 'refractive error', just like nearsightedness or farsightedness. Astigmatism means that the front of the eye (the cornea) has a curve like a football, gradual curve in one axis, and more steep curve in the other. The 'normal' eye has a cornea that is shaped the same in every direction, like a basketball. The different curves cause 2 different focus points in side the eye causing blur in the central vision, not just in one corner, and does not cause flashing lights. More info on my website:.

When : When it comes to your eyes, why take a risk? You should seek the care of an ophthalmologist. The flashing lights need to be checked out to rule out a retinal detachement which if untreated, could lead to blindness. The blurry vision could be dry eye syndroms. You may have some astigmatism but that can only be determined as a part of an examination. As you get older, the chance of needing glasses increases.

Your : Your symptoms are not from astigmatism. You most likely have posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) but there is a small chance that you may have retinal tear or retinal detachment. In which case it is considered to be an emergency condition and you will need an immediate full dilated eye exam from an ophthalmologists. I recommend a visit to an ophthalmologist as soon as possible.