Refractive Error

Refractive error is extremely common eye conditions that make your vision blurry. Usually, all you’ll need is a new pair of glasses or contacts to restore your vision. Talk to Shreya Hospital Eye Care Specialist about vision correction surgery if you have a refractive error but don’t want to wear corrective lenses.

Commonest eye problem affecting a large number of people. Vision correction is possible to treat with LASIK procedure and one can remove spectacles.

Depending on which type of refractive error you have, something about the shape of your eyeball, your cornea or your lens prevents your eyes from focusing correctly on objects you’re looking at. This distorts your vision.

There are a few types of refractive errors. Some make it hard to focus your eyes on objects close to you. Others make objects far away look blurry. No matter which type of refractive error you have, an eye care specialist can diagnose and treat it. They’ll check your eyes and vision and prescribe a treatment to help you see clearly again.

Types of Refractive Error:

• Nearsightedness (myopia)

  People who have nearsightedness (myopia) have difficulty seeing distant objects, but can see objects that are close to them clearly. For example, if you have nearsightedness, you might not be able to make out signs on the side of the road until they’re just a few feet away or right outside of your car’s window.

  Usually, nearsightedness happens because your eye grows too long from front to back. Sometimes, nearsightedness happens because your cornea or lens is too curved.

  Nearsightedness usually develops in kids when they’re around 10 years old.

• Farsightedness (hyperopia)

  Farsightedness (hyperopia) makes it hard to see objects close to you clearly. It’s the opposite of myopia. If you have farsightedness, you might be able to read words on a screen on the other side of the room clearly, but will struggle to read notes you’re typing on your laptop that’s right in front of you.

  Your eye growing too short from front to back causes farsightedness. Another cause is your cornea or lens being too flat (not being curved enough).

  People with farsightedness are usually born with it.

• Age-related farsightedness (presbyopia)

  Age-related farsightedness (presbyopia) is a specific type of farsightedness that develops as you get older. Just like the farsightedness that can affect anyone, presbyopia makes it hard to see things up close. It’s usually the reason people need reading glasses as they age.

  Presbyopia develops when the lens of your eye becomes less flexible and can’t focus on objects as well as it used to. It usually develops in people older than 40.

• Astigmatism

  Astigmatism can make objects at any distance look blurry. Usually, eyes are round. If you have astigmatism, your eye is shaped like a football or the back of a spoon. This makes light that enters your eyes bend and distort more than it should.

  Astigmatism can develop at any point in your life. Some people are born with it. Others don’t experience it until they’re adults.

Diagnosis:

An eye care specialist will diagnose refractive errors with an eye exam. They’ll look at your eyes (including inside them). They’ll also have you perform a visual acuity test. This will help determine which type of refractive error you have and how much it’s affecting your vision.

Treatment:

Treatments for refractive errors include:

• Eyeglasses.
• Contact lenses.
• Vision correction surgery such as LASIK and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).