Ghosting and Halos - not astigmatism?

I see slight ghosting of text above the actual text in high contrast situations, such as white text on black background. I also see halos around bright lights at night. This is in both eyes, and both of these problems go away when I look through a pinhole. I went to the eye doctor, and he said I do not have astigmatism, and that other than being very slightly nearsighted, my eyes are completely healthy. Glasses did not alleviate the ghosting or halos, and he suggested that aberrations could be the cause of my problems.

Has anyone had a similar problem? If it is an aberration, will contacts help, since they act as a makeshift lens? If not, is laser surgery my only option?

Thanks in advance for any answers.

[Sandra M Brown, MD]

If you do not have astigmatism but your symptoms are relieved by pinhole, then this is definitely an optical problem that may be due to what are known as "higher order aberrations".  The aberration known as "coma" (pronounced with a long o) causes vertical ghosting.  You should be checked for astigmatism both before and after your eyes are dilated.  If you are developing early cataracts, you could consider having surgery, depending on how annoying these symptoms are.

[yarrow]

Do you have any cataract formation at all?  I ask because one of the symptoms of my rapidly developing cataracts was ghosting.  After my lens implantation, the ghosting was gone--and I mean completely GONE.