Headlights can turn into elongated smudges. For some people with astigmatism, car lights, streetlights, and illuminated signs look blurry or leave a kind of trail, appearing differently than they do to someone without this condition.
Astigmatism changes the way light is focused inside the eye: it does not reach a single point on the retina. At night, the contrast between bright lights and a dark background can make the effect more noticeable.
That is why some people with astigmatism report greater difficulty driving at night, especially when facing headlights and other bright lights. The right correction—glasses or lenses prescribed by an ophthalmologist—can help reduce these effects.
