Common Vision issues
The most common issues with vision are called refractive errors. Refractive errors are a result of light not being focused directly on the retina of your eyeball. There are many reasons why light may be prevented to be focused on the retina. These include aging, changes in the length of the eyeball and changes in the shape of your cornea. The different types of refractive errors include nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia.
In nearsightedness, you are only able to see objects closer to your eye clearly while objects far off appear blue. Farsightedness is the opposite of nearsightedness where only images far off are clearly seen by your eye.
In astigmatism, your eye does not focus light evenly on your retina making you see blurry and stretched out images. Presbyopia is common amongst the elderly in which the lens of your eyes loses its ability to focus close objects.
Each problem is different and thus must be treated differently. Here are some treatments with an explanation as to when should they be used:
1) LASIK
LASIK stands for laser in-situ keratomileusis and is used to treat eye problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. LASIK is a little complex but has a lot of benefits. About 96% of patients report better vision after the treatment. LASIK involves changing the shape of the cornea of your eyes correcting vision nearly a day after the treatment.
LASIK treatment should be used by you if you have a thin cornea. You should go for this treatment if your eye only needs low corrections.
2) PRK
The laser can also be used to change the shape of your cornea to improve your vision. A very common treatment for eyes is Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). The cornea is treated with laser but first, the outer layer of your cornea is removed. Your cornea heals and regrows a few days after the treatment.
3) Cataract surgery
Cataracts are common amongst elders and involve a blurred vision due to the clouding of your lens. Since in cataracts your lens is not clear it will not be able to form a clear image on your retina. The cloudiness of your lens prevents light from reaching your retina reducing the sharpness of the image formed at the retina.
Cataracts are completely age-related and you might get it only after entering your 80s but some people also get them in their middle ages. Cataracts are common among diabetic patients. Smoking can also be a cause of the disease. There are different types of cataracts which include secondary cataract, traumatic cataract, congenital contract and radiation cataract.
Read the 10 signs of cataracts and seek medical help from your Personal Eyes surgeons as soon as you notice them. Early cataracts can be treated using glasses, lenses etc. but in serious cases, the cataract needs to be removed. The surgery involves removing your own lens and replacing them with artificial ones.
4) Laser Photocoagulation
Laser Photocoagulation is used in patients who have an eye disease due to diabetes. Diabetes can damage your retina by affecting the blood vessels in it. Laser Photocoagulation involves the closing of blood vessels. It is often used for patients with diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy damages retina and can be treated by laser, corticosteroids and vitrectomy.
5) Using glasses/lens
You can use glasses or lens to improve your vision if you have issues such as shortsightedness or farsightedness. However, these are not the permanent solutions and therefore proper surgery must be done if you have serious eye problems.
