Are you seeing beams of light coming out of every lightbulb in your vision?
You may have thought this was a shared experience all people had.
But that isn't so - you could be part of the population with a very specific condition.
Advert
It affects approximately one third of the US population and carries symptoms such as the need to squint to see clearly, headaches and blurry vision.
Having blurry vision is what causes people to see beams coming from a light source.
An image demonstrating this phenomena was shared to the subreddit r/InterestingAsF**k.
Advert
In the photo, streaks of light can be seen coming out of lightbulbs in a busy restaurant.
It represents what people with astigmatism likely see on a regular basis.
The condition occurs when the cornea (the clear front layer of the eye) or the lens (inside your eye) has a different shape.
Most people have perfectly round eyeballs, however, those with astigmatism have egg or oval-shaped eyes.
Advert
Their eyes are shaped more like an American football, while others have eyes shaped like a European football.
Mild cases of the condition usually won't present with any symptoms, but but the abnormal shape of the lens or cornea can make light bend as it enters your eye.
One person with the condition wrote on Reddit: "I always thought this was normal.
"Like when it rains at night I [would] look at the street lights and they would look like big red and green stars stretching further because of the [rain] drops on the windshield.
Advert
"Then I found out I have astigmatism, crazy to think not everyone sees the glare."
While astigmatism can be annoying, it's nothing to worry over.
It's very common, with some people being born with it and others developing it after a injury, illness or surgery.
Advert
Doctors aren't sure why the shape of the lens or cornea can vary between people, but the risk of getting it is inherited from parents.
You can find out for certain if you have astigmatism by going to the opticians for an eye exam, where testing might include reading from an eye chart or looking through a device known as a 'phoropter', where you have to relay which letters you can see better.
Tests can also include an autorefractor, where a light is shined into the eye, and a keratometer to measure the curve of your cornea.
If you do have the condition, your doctor can treat it with glasses or contact lenses, or even with surgery which changes the shape of your cornea.
However, if your astigmatism is mild, you probably even won't need treatment.
Ben Thompson