Myopia vs Astigmatism vision (POV)

Today we compare the difference between myopia (near-sightedness) and astigmatism.

Myopia vs Astigmatism
Astigmatism vs Myopia

Myopia is also known as short-sightedness or near-sightedness.

I have used with the rule astigmatism in each of the examples to keep it simple.

[AllTheArtsy]

Not me being both myopic and having astigmatism 🤡

[janedahlin]

I have both pretty bad myopia and astigmatism and driving at night is the absolute worst because all the lights are way brighter and seem stretched out, especially if I'm driving in a rural area with little light. Makes it much harder to anything else. Same for driving in heavy rain.

Also, growing up I thought the whole Velma not being able to find her glasses was just a humor thing. No. It's real. If my glasses aren't exactly where i usually keep them, I can't find em 😅🥲

[Mrinkydink]

I have strong myopia and mild astigmatism in one eye, and the reverse in the other, so I could actually view the difference between the two by closing each of my eyes, one at a time! Super cool, I know.

[andreaw.]

Wow! At 49, I knew from a very young age, that I was both myopic and an astigmate, but in this video with the clockface, I saw for the first time just now that I have in fact "against the rule" astigmatism, a distinction which I never even knew existed. Thank you!

[Slip]

I was diagnosed with myopic astigmatism when I was 23. I noticed that I couldn’t read the aisle signs in Walmart when my girlfriend at the time had absolutely no issues doing so. Then, while driving, I would ask her to read road signs I wasn’t close enough to read yet. She could read them easily. When I got my glasses, I wanted to cry. I had never seen how beautiful the world could be. I no longer sit 3 feet away from the tv too!

[PetrosArgy]

This is the best explanation I've seen of this. I've been wearing glasses for 45 years and no one had ever explained any of this to me. Thanks!

[NowInAus]

This is a gem. It’s so useful to compare visual experiences which are uniquely personal. I’ll be using your videos to help my kids recognise if they need to see an optician. Loved the clock astigmatism example. Thanks :)

[aimsco]

Love your videos Dr. Hong! Now more people will understand the differences of Myopia and Astigmatism! 💖 As an optometrist in my country, I always try to explain these things to my patients. There is a common misconception that without glasses, myopic/astigmatic people are blind. I always point out the differences to them. I say that most of the time the edges of letters or numbers are blurred, and the form & color of objects are what remains to be seen for people with errors of refraction. Blind people on the other hand would have a hard time seeing the forms of objects/letters/numbers, plus their eyesight wouldn't be improved with glasses anymore, it would just be a visual aid for them, but typically 20/20 letters are quite impossible.

[altosanon]

Thank you, this video helped me understand my eye tests more, I have high myopia with a small amount of astigmatism. Part of the test I didn't understand was seeing a semicircle of lines and being asked which were bolder. Now I totally understand.

[hgentleman]

Best presentation I have seen on astigmatism and myopia. Especially on the DIFFERENCE between the two. I have the two and didnt know the difference.

[Peter-wcdg]

Hey yo Antonio! Thank you for your content! One idea is that you could do a video overlaying both issues, as many people have both myopia and astigmatism. It would be cool to show people the combined effect. You could also look at how the combination of different eye issues affects the end result, such as oblique astigmatism in one eye together with with the rule or against the rule in the other (perhaps plus myopia).

[chelsealore]

I'm -10.00 -1.00 in my right eye and -10.50 -0.50 in my left. I'm also a dispensing optician and nothing annoys me more than people who say "you don't understand, my eye are so bad" but they have barely any prescription.

[brukujinbrokujin]

I agree with you on the astigmatism part. But the "representation" of myopia is inaccurate. It is correct for mechanical lens but not human eyes. Lemme explain. I have -2 dioptri from childhood to -14 now so i can tell you my experience

The reason for this, is that your brain will "correct" blurriness the more you have dioptri. So big image like cars wont get mashed up like this video, but small words does kinda accurate.

For example, the car is still "somewhat" clear but the edge is blurry. You can still see the shape of the car, but not the details. In my experience this is due to the brain try to correct things up

Also, based on mechanical lens, if you have 14 dioptri you should not be able to do anything. Yet i, can do everyday task, like grabbing things, drinking, sitting. Because i can still see "things". Yet i can only see these letter on my smartphone when its 4 cm from my eyes. Hope this helps

[Danijel]

My astigmatism looks different, It's not simple x/y axis and there are also multiple copies of the image. It's like when you copy a layer 3-10 times on photoshop, displace them a bit and put some 10-25% transparency on it and the different astigmatism angle on each. Also, in the street light example, looking at one/original copy, the streak of light is not only like half of the radius, but at least half the length of the pole but also at reduced transparency!

[stevenswann]

Brilliant info! Without the visual demonstrations here it is difficult for us laymen to understand the differences between astigmatism and myopia. I found this video really useful, thanks.

[lllee]

Thanks for your videos! In one of your previous videos, you mentioned that you liked Ultra multifocal and astigmatism contacts. Could you please do a video just on Ultra--fitting and handling? The pros and cons.

[andrealeithoff]

Need to do one with myopia, astigmatism, and diplopia. I have 3 and need my husband to understand that driving at night or in the rain is hell

[gagswag]

Hi Antonio, your videos are really good and informative. Thank you for sharing with us. How do you simulate or show on video the faulty vision of a myopic or astigmatism eye? Is there any tool or app?

[thesanshann]

It's interesting to see the comparisons between myopia and astigmatism, thanks for sharing Antonio. I have -8.25 OD and -8.75 OS myopia with a bit of astigmatism...my eyesight worsens by 0.75 to 1 diopter every year, it's frustrating having to change my lens every year. It's expensive $$$ too. I'm 25, and I don't know when it will stop worsening 😩

[simaitools]

Best explanation I have seen in youtube