Diagnosis and Treatment

 Do you have trouble seeing close objects? Distant objects? Both? These are coomon vision problems, called refractive errors. They can almost always be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. In some cases, a laser may be used to correct your vision. Your eye doctor can tell you what your vision problem is and suggest the best treatment for you.

Testing your vision

A simple eye exam can reveal most vision problems. By using eye charts, lenses, and special instruments, your eye doctor can measure your eyes’ focusing power. This way, he or she can provide the prescription you need for glasses or contact lenses. Your eye doctor may also dilate your eyes to see how healthy they are. 

Glasses

Glasses change the way light focuses on the inside of your eye. Glasses are fairly easy to get used to and take care of.

Contact Lenses

Contacts lenses work just like glasses. But contacts are worn on your eyes. They can take more time to adjust to and care for.

Refractive surgery

This surgery changes the shape of your eye itself. Most often, a laser is used to reshape the cornea (clear front layer of the eye). This reduces your need for glasses or contacts.

The normal eye

If your eyes are normal, you can see close and distant objects clearly. They don’t look blurry or distorted.

If your eyes are normal.

Your eyes see objects as light. The cornea focuses light rays onto the retina ( a layer that lines the back of the eye ) . If your eyes are normal, this process produces a focused image on the retina. This makes objects look clear.

Myopia

Nearsightedness is also called myopia. If you’re nearsighted, distant objects look blurry. But you see close objects clearly.

In myopia because your Cornea is too steep, light comes to a focus in front of the retina. In a myopic LASIK procedure, your doctor first creates a thin protective flap of corneal tissue using an instrument called the Microkeratome. This flap is gently folded back exposing the deeper corneal layers. An Excimer laser is then used to remove tissue from the central portion of the cornea. This flattens the central corneal curve, refocusing light back on to the retina. The protective flap is gently folded back where it heals naturally and securely. This procedure is quick, painless and in most cases you can return to your normal activities very quickly, usually within hours.

If you’re Nearsighted

The cornea and the retina are too far apart. Sometimes the cornea is also too curved. This makes light rays from distant objects focus in front of the retina. These objects then look blurry.

Hyperopia

Farsightedness is also called hyperopia. If you’re farsighted, close objects look blurry. If you are severely farsighted, distant objects may also look blurry.

In Hyperopia because your cornea is too flat light comes to a focus behind the retina. In the hyperopic lasik procedure, your doctor first creates a thin protective flap of corneal tissue using an instrument called the Microkeratome. This flap is gently folded back exposing the deeper corneal layers. An Excimer laser is then used to remove tissue from the central portion of the cornea. This steepens the central corneal curve, refocusing light back on to the retina. The protective flap is gently folded back where it heals naturally and securely. This procedure is quick, painless and in most cases you can return to your normal activities very quickly, usually within hours.

If you’re Farsighted

The cornea and the retina are too close together. Sometimes, the cornea is also too flat. This makes light rays from close objects focus behind the retina. These objects then look blurry.

Astigmatism

If you have an uneven cornea, you have Astigmatism. Both close and distant objects look blurry. With Astigmatism, you’re often also nearsighted or farsighted.

In Astigmatism because your cornea is round light comes to a focus either in the front or behind the retina. In the astigmatic lasik procedure, your doctor first creates a thin protective flap of corneal tissue using an instrument called the Microkeratome. This flap is gently folded back exposing the deeper corneal layers. An Excimer laser is then used to remove tissue from the central portion of the cornea. This makes the central corneal curve more spherical, refocusing light back on to the retina. The protective flap is gently folded back where it heals naturally and securely. This procedure is quick painless and in most cases you can return to your normal activities very quickly usually within hours.

If you’re astigmatic

In Astigmatism due to unequal power in different meridians of the cornea, rays of light do not come to a point focus on the retina, instead, they focus on two or more points, either in front of or behind the retina. This makes close and distant objects look blurry.

Get regular eye exams

Eye exams are important to measure and correct vision problems. But seeing an eye doctor regularly also helps detect other eye problems. Early diagnosis and treatment of eye problems could save your eyesight.