Blurred vision, blemishes, glare at night, flashes of light are all symptoms of common eye conditions. If you notice any changes in your vision, contact your optometrist immediately. Early detection, early diagnosis, early treatment!
Color blindness test
What number do you see in far left corner? If it's "3", you probably have normal color vision. If it's a "5", you're probably colorblind. The middle panel shows a slight color vision deficiency. Complete color blindness, which is rare, appears on right. The numbers are not visible. Wearing special glasses can help you see better.
Myopia
In nearsightedness, distant objects appear blurry. Doctors call it myopia. The following reasons can cause myopia:
Myopia can make it difficult to drive a car, play sports, or watch a whiteboard or TV. Symptoms include blurred vision, strabismus, and fatigue. To correct this, you may wear glasses, contact lenses, or in some cases, surgery.
Hyperopia
Most people are born with a mild degree of farsightedness, but it goes away during childhood. When it's constant, you can see distant objects well, but books and other close objects are blurred. This problem is common in families. Symptoms include difficulty reading, blurred vision at night, eye strain, and headaches. For treatment, you can wear glasses or contact lenses. Some people have surgery to do this.
Presbyopia (presbyopia)
Difficulty reading fine print is a sign of aging. This is called presbyopia. Most people begin to notice around age of 40 that lens of eye becomes less flexible and unable to change shape to focus on objects at reading distance. Solution: Wear reading glasses or binoculars to correct nearsightedness and distance vision.
Elongated eyeballs are usually cause. It can also be caused by an abnormal shape of cornea or lens. Rays of light are focused in front of retina instead of falling directly on it. This sensitive membrane connects back of eye (macula) and sends signals to brain via optic nerve. Nearsightedness usually occurs in school-aged children and teenagers, so as they get older they may need to change their glasses or contact lenses frequently. The incidence of myopia is growing at an alarming rate, mainly due to the increased use of portable devices and computers.
This problem is caused by a short eyeball or an unusually shaped lens or cornea. Light is focused behind your retina, and nearby objects appear blurry. Your farsightedness may also be blurry. Children with severe farsightedness often have crossed eyes (strabismus) or lazy eyes (amblyopia) and may have dyslexia. This is one of reasons ophthalmologists recommend eye examinations for young children.
If you have astigmatism in one or both eyes, your vision may be in focus at any distance. It occurs when cornea, clear "window" that covers front of eye, is irregularly shaped. Light rays cannot be focused at one point on retina. Instead, they spread to many places. Symptoms include blurred vision, headaches, fatigue and eye strain. Glasses or contact lenses correct this. Surgery may be an option.
Refractive eye surgery
Do you dream of seeing clearly without glasses? Orthokeratology surgery can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism with a success rate of over 90%. If you have severe dry eyes, thin or unusually shaped corneas, or severe vision problems, surgery may not be right for you. Side effects include glare or sensitivity to light.
You don't feel it, but disease has damaged optic nerve. Unless you've lost your "central vision", you probably don't have any symptoms. Your "peripheral vision" suffers in first place. That's why you need regular eye exams every 1-2 years, especially after age 40. Doctors can treat glaucoma with medication or surgery.
Glaucoma: what to expect
Your eyes are filled with fluid. Sometimes too much pressure can increase eye strain. This can damage optic nerve, bundle of nerve fibers that carry messages to brain. Left untreated, glaucoma can lead to total blindness.
The bright yellow circle shows an optic disc damaged by glaucoma. The dark central area is macula, which controls your subtle central vision.
Macular degenerationAge-related macular degeneration (AMD) damages and then destroys central vision, making it difficult to read or drive. Symptoms include a central fuzzy spot or wavy line. You are more likely to get this condition if you are over 60, smoke, have high blood pressure, are obese, are female, or have a family history. Visit your ophthalmologist regularly to check for AMD. Prompt treatment can help slow vision loss.
Eye diseases (myopia, farsightedness, glaucoma, etc.) medical knowledge of science
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