An eye test shows people who panic over the sight – but the doctor is not so sure

Last week, two photos started circulating on social media, which claimed to show the difference between how an astigmatized person sees lights and a person who does not.

The images show a scene of night traffic, a scene in which the lights are streaked with bright and fuzzy lines and another in which the lights appeared completely normal.

A Twitter account, called Unusual Facts, was the first to share the images and their tweet became viral.

More than 55,000 people liked the message and more than 23,000 have retweeted it.

Beside the pictures, they write: "Astigmatism occurs when the cornea is slightly curved rather than completely rounded …

"With astigmatism, the light focuses on several points of the retina rather than on one point – that's what astigmatism does not face."

And it did not take long for people to start to panic and think that they have to visit Specsavers and get their eyes tested.

One person said, "Fucking shit, I thought everyone was seeing the lines, and when I was little, I'd cast my eyes to make them longer to distract me, thought it was normal."

Another wrote: "Can people see the lights normally? I thought everyone was seeing these lines-"

A third added, "My life is a lie."

Despite the popularity of the publication, a doctor has since said that the images could actually be used to diagnose if a person was suffering from astigmatism.

Dr. Samuel D. Pierce, president of the American Optometric Association, told Buzzfeed News that the photos were not a very good representation of astigmatism.

He said, "To be quite honest, I do not think it's the best representation of how astigmatism is perceived through the eyes of someone with astigmatism.

"It did not look like astigmatism, and I can say it because I have astigmatism."

He added, "Yes, it is possible that someone can see the blur that springs from an object, but the way this image was created is more like a burst of light.

"Astigmatism is not a source of glare, it is a source of blur."