For you to see clearly, the cornea and the lens in your eyes have to refract light rays for them to focus on the retina. The retina will then convert these light rays into impulses and will be sent to the brain to recognize images. But, if the light rays are not properly focused on your retina, the pictures you see will be blurry. This condition is popularly known as refractive error. To lessen these errors and to help you see clearly, you need to wear contact lenses or eyeglasses, or for some, undergo a surgery like LASIK. These solutions make light rays focus on the retina.
Refractive errors come with different types and are brought by imperfectly shaped corneas, eyeballs, or lens. These kinds of refractive errors are:
- Myopia or nearsightedness – in this kind of refractive error, only nearby objects appear distinct or clear while the objects that are far seem blurry or distorted. If you have nearsightedness or myopia, you typically have difficulty seeing distant road signs and any other far objects clearly. However, your vision works fine when doing close-up tasks such as reading a book or an article on a computer. Other signs to watch out for are eyestrain, squinting, and recurring headaches.
- Astigmatism – this condition happens when the pictures appear blurry whether they are close to you or far from you. Symptoms of it include eyestrain and constant headaches, especially after doing a lengthy visual task like reading or watching the television. Astigmatism often shows early in life, that’s why it is vital to have your kids scheduled for an eye examination to avoid this kind of vision problems. It can be identified early on a regular eye exam using the same instruments or methods for the detection of nearsightedness as well as farsightedness. Your eye doctor will do a refraction test to see the amount of astigmatism you have.
- Hyperopia or farsightedness – this happens when the images that are far away from you are clear or vivid while the nearby images are blurry or distorted. People with this eye condition sometimes have recurring headaches or eyestrain. Their eyes may also often squint or feel tired, especially after performing work at a close range.
If you no longer want to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses, you may want to have a surgery in order to correct your eyesight. One of the solutions for these problems is a LASIK or laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis procedure. In this surgery, the eye specialist will be using a laser to reshape the cornea – the round dome shaped transparent structure at the front of the eyes. This is made to improve the way a patients’ eye focuses light rays onto the retina.
But, not everyone is advised to undergo LASIK since some may not be qualified. Here are the factors that have to meet before you choose to undergo this treatment:
- You need to have healthy eyes.
- Your overall health has to be of good condition.
- Your eye prescription have to be stable
- You must not be taking medications like oral prednisone or Accutane.
- You should be at least eighteen years of age. If you are younger than 18 then there’s still a possibility that your eyesight will change.
- You must not be pregnant or nursing. People who are expecting or nursing can have varied measurement of their eye degree.
- You should not have dry eye condition. If you are taking medications for dry eyes, ask your eye doctor about since it can affect the results of the surgery.
Contact Atlas Eye for more information about their advanced services in LASIK surgery.