Charlottetown Vision Care

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Description

How the Eye Works - Light enters the eye through the clear front surface layer called the cornea. The cornea starts to focus the light, which then travels through the fluid filled anterior chamber to the lens. The lens is the major refractive (focusing) structure of the eye. The lens can change thickness in order to focus the light more or less, depending on viewing distance and age. The image becomes inverted at this point, and the light rays then pass through the inner cavity of the eyeball, a jelly-like substance called the vitreous humour. Finally, the light strikes the retina, the inner lining of the eye, and stimulates the light receptors, which send a signal to the brain via the optic nerve. TOP Myopia - This is often referred to as "˜Near-sightedness', because individuals with Myopia may be able to see objects near their eyes quite easily, but have difficulty seeing objects far away without the help of glasses or contact lenses. Myopia occurs when the eyeball is too long and/or when the cornea, the clear front portion of the eye, is too curved and therefore optically too powerful. Myopia often begins to develop in childhood and usually increases as the body grows rapidly during adolescence. The level of myopia then usually becomes stable in the adult years. Myopia is often noted when an individual reports difficulty seeing distant objects such as road signs, the TV or the blackboard at school. Myopic patients, particularly children, may be seen squinting as an attempt to clear their vision. Optometrists prescribe concave (minus) glasses or contact lenses to help the eyes form a clear image. Depending on the degree of myopia, these lenses may need to be worn all of the time, or only for specific tasks. TOP Hyperopia - Hyperopia may also be referred to as "˜Far-sightedness', because people with this condition may be able to focus on objects far away, but have more difficulty focusing on closer objects. This occurs as a result of the eyeball being too short and/or the clear front portion of the eye, the cornea, being too flat and therefore not optically powerful enough. Because hyperopia in children may go undetected in some school eye-screening tests that may only test distance visual acuity, a full eye health examination with an Optometrist that tests both far and near vision is often necessary to diagnose farsightedness. When hyperopia is detected, convex (plus) eyeglasses or contact lenses may be prescribed to help the eyes bring objects into focus. TOP Astigmatism - Astigmatism is a condition in which the cornea, the clear front surface of the eye has an irregular curvature, which causes blurred distorted images at all distances. This can cause headaches and/or a feeling of strain on the eyes. If someone were to construct a model of a normal eye with half a basketball serving as the cornea, a model eye with astigmatism would require half of a football as the cornea. Although this example is somewhat exaggerated, it demonstrates that astigmatic corneas are more curved in one direction that the other. Astigmatism is very common and often occurs in addition to nearsightedness or farsightedness.

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