A person with myopia can see clearly objects close to them, but not far away. This is caused by the shape of the eye - either the eyeball is slightly too long or the cornea (the clear covering of the front of the eye) is too steeply curved. It is corrected by glasses or contact lenses with lenses which are 'minus' or concave in shape. If you are short sighted your prescription will have a minus lens power eg -1.25D..
A person with hyperopia can see clearly objects far away from them, but not close to them. This is caused by the shape of the eye - the eyeball is slightly too short. It is corrected by glasses or contact lenses with lenses which are 'plus' or convex in shape. If you are long sighted your prescription will have a plus lens power eg +1.25D.
Astigmatism means that the cornea is oval like a football instead of spherical like a basketball. Most astigmatic corneas have two curves – a steeper curve and a flatter curve. This causes light to focus on more than one point in the eye, resulting in blurred vision at distance and near. Astigmatism often occurs along with nearsightedness or farsightedness. It is corrected by spectacles with a cylinder shape built into the lenses at a certain angle. Contact lenses can also correct astigmatism.
As a person ages so do their eyes. The crystalline lenses become less flexible and thicker. The result is presbyopia, and people begin to notice its effects during their forties. As a result of these changes objects close to them become blurred and the point of closest focus gradually moves further away from the eyes.
Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, is a condition in which vision in one eye is very much worse than in the other. The two 'views' provided by the eyes cannot be combined into one '3-D' image by the brain, so the patient loses their 'binocular' vision (binocular vision is where the combination of the images from the two eyes enables the person to see in 3-D)..
Cataracts are opacities in the lens of the eye. These opacities may exist in many different forms, shapes and locations within the lens. Generally, the more dense the cataract, the more it has an effect on our vision as light will not reach the sensory retina as effectively. Cataracts are highly affected by UV light, an over-exposure over the course of our lives will increase our chance of getting cataracts.
Glaucoma is the diseases in which the optic nerve at the back of the eye is slowly destroyed. In most instances, this damage is due to an increased pressure inside the eye - a result of blockage of the circulation of aqueous, or its drainage. In other cases, the damage may be caused by poor blood supply to the optic nerve fibres, a weakness in the structure of the nerve or a problem in the health of the nerve fibres themselves.
Diabetes is an inability to metabolise the sugars and carbohydrates in the body as a result of a lack of the hormone insulin. High levels of sugar in the blood due to lack of insulin can cause problems over time. Small blood vessels and capillaries may become leaky. When the blood vessels supplying the back of the eye leak, blood and fluid can enter the surrounding retina and damage the cells which detect light. In the long term, diabetes can lead to some other eye problems, including cataract, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. The better diabetes is controlled the less likely significant eye problems will occur
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The information contained in ‘Common eye Problems’ is for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as a replacement for obtaining advice from a registered optician or other appropriate healthcare professional.
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