AMBLYOPIA (LAZY EYE)
Amblyopia is the lack of normal visual development in an otherwise healthy eye. There is often a strong family history and it is closely related to high hyperopia and squint. It normally starts during early childhood and early detection and treatment is important to restore clear vision. Some children may need surgery but the majority are managed with corrective glasses, usually in conjunction with patching where an eye patch is applied to the normal eye to encourage the child to focus with the “lazy” eye.
People with lazy eyes or where there is family history of lazy eyes are recommended to have the eyes of their children examined at a very early age.
ASTIGMATISM
Astigmatism is where the light rays from different directions focus at two separate points either in front or behind the retina. This is most commonly due to the front surface of the eye (cornea) not being uniformly round. A common analogy used is that the eyeball is a bit like a rugby ball rather than football shaped! Astigmatism can happen on its own or in conjunction with myopia or hyperopia. Watch our video on astigmatism.
Video provided by ACUVUE®
Read more about toric contact lenses for astigmatism.
HYPEROPIA
Hyperopia, or long sightedness, is where the light focuses at a point behind the retina and convex spectacle lenses or contact lenses are needed to pull the focus back onto the retina.
MYOPIA
Myopia, also known as short sightedness, is where the light focuses in front of the retina and concave spectacle lenses or contact lenses are needed to push the focus onto the retina. If distant objects look blurred but you can see near objects clearly, you are probably myopic.
PRESBYOPIA
Presbyopia is a natural change in our eyes that makes it harder to focus on things close up. It’s a process that happens to all of us in our 40s, and once it starts it progresses over time and doesn’t go away. Simply put, presbyopia occurs due to the lens in our eye losing its flexibility. Presbyopia can be corrected either with single vision reading glasses or multifocal glasses or contact lenses.
Video provided by CooperVision®
