Astigmatism Causes Most astigmatism does not have a recognized cause other than merely an anatomical imperfection in the shape of the cornea, where the front curvature of the cornea is toric, rather than spherical.
A small amount of astigmatism is considered normal and does not represent a disease of the eye. This type of astigmatism is extremely common and frequently is present at birth or has its onset during childhood or young adulthood.
There is some hereditary basis to most cases of astigmatism, and most people with astigmatism have it in both eyes.
Astigmatism is often associated with myopia (nearsightedness) or hyperopia (farsightedness). Astigmatism can increase in amount during the growing years. In regular astigmatism, the meridians in which the two different curves lie are located 90 degrees apart.
Most astigmatism is regular. In irregular astigmatism, the two meridians may be located at something other than 90 degrees apart or there are more than two meridians.
A scar in the cornea, resulting from an injury or infection, or a disease called keratoconus may also cause astigmatism. This type of astigmatism is usually irregular..
