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Myopia
Presbyopia
Hyperopia
Astigmatism
Cataracts
Glaucoma
Diabetes
Myopia
Myopia is the scientific name for what most people call
short-sightedness.
Around 15 per cent of Australians are myopic. Without
properly prescribed glasses or contact lenses they find it
difficult to see distant objects clearly.
Short-sighted people find it hard to read road signs or
score boards and cannot recognize people in the distance.
Understandably, uncorrected myopia can have a destructive
impact on studies, work and play.
In simple terms, myopia is caused by a change in the focal
length or shape of the eye. Prescription lenses are the
only sure way to correct myopia.
Contact lenses and spectacles are both good options for
myopia.
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Presbyopia
Presbyopia, or difficulty seeing clearly at reading
distance, is a very normal part of ageing, like graying
hair - only more frustrating.
Between the ages of 40 and 45 most people start to notice
problems seeing close objects. Activities such a reading
and sewing become difficult. People with presbyopia often
find they hold their books and newspapers further away
from their eyes in an attempt to make the print clearer.
The common comment is that 'my eyes are fine, it's just my
arms aren't long enough!'.
Apart from creating difficulty in reading, presbyopia may
also cause sore eyes, headaches and tiredness as a result
of close work.
Although the problems associated with presbyopia appear to
come on suddenly, the ageing process behind presbyopia is
gradual.
Our eyes are normally focused for distance vision. Inside
the eye, there is a lens about the size of a pea. To focus
on close objects, a special muscle changes the shape of
this lens. As a normal part of ageing, the lens loses its
flexibility and is less able to change its shape, making
focusing on close objects more difficult.
By examining your eyes, an optometrist can prescribe a
lens that will make near objects clear again. A number of
correction options are available for presbyopia, including
contact lens options.
Your optometrist can help you determine which corrective
lens will suit you best. Presbyopia generally increases
between the ages of 45 to about 65, when it levels.
Because vision changes occur most significantly between 45
and 65, it is wise to have your eyes examined once every
two to three years, not only to review your lens
prescription but also your general eye health.
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Hyperopia
Having difficulty focusing on near objects, but achieving
clear distance vision is a common visual complaint.
Hyperopia is commonly known as long-sightedness and
affects young and old alike. A hyperopic person may have
normal vision and even pass an eye chart test, but they
find near objects appear blurred or have difficulty
focusing close-up. As a result they may get tired eyes and
headaches, which have a detrimental affect on reading,
school and work.
A typical hyperope will get sore eyes and headaches from
reading. Either they struggle to focus on the page or they
cannot see the words clearly. Both problems cause strain.
Long-sightedness can be treated in a number of ways.
Younger hyperopes may be given eye exercises or glasses
for close work such as reading or studying. Older
hyperopes and those with greater degrees of
long-sightedness are more likely to need glasses for
reading and possibly also for distance vision. Vision can
also be corrected by contact lenses.
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Astigmatism
Astigmatism is a focussing error that causes objects at
both near and distance to be blurry.
Astigmatism is caused by the shape of the front of the eye
(the cornea). Without astigmatism, the cornea is perfectly
spherical, like the surface of a basketball. Light is
focused to a single point.
With astigmatism, the cornea is more oval, shaped like the
surface of an egg, or a football. This causes light to be
focused in two different locations, meaning there is no
single point of focus and the image is blurred.
As the eye cannot focus the two points, objects at all
distance can be blurred or indistinct. Even small amounts
of astigmatism may cause headaches, fatigue and reduce
concentration. This is because the eyes will try,
unsuccessfully to correct the blur, and there is a
tendency to screw up the eyes to see better, resulting in
discomfort in the eye and face muscles.
Astigmatism can be corrected by spectacles and contact
lenses.
Astigmatism can be found in combination with short
sightedness and long sightedness.
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Cataracts
Cataracts, a cloudiness in the lens of the eye that can
cause blindness, are easily and safely removed. Cataracts
are usually a result of ageing, although they are
occasionally caused by injury or disease. Most people over
65 have signs of cataracts.
Cataracts usually develop slowly and painlessly,
progressively reducing useful vision. Symptoms include
blurred or hazy vision, seeing spots, double vision and
increased glare sensitivity. At first cataracts are
characterized by misty 'veiling' vision and loss of
contrast. At this stage an optometrist can often prescribe
new glasses to help.
As vision worsens, reading gets slower and driving becomes
difficult toward sunset. When glasses will no longer help,
an optometrist will refer their patient to an eye surgeon
to have their cataracts removed.
Cataract surgery is often performed under local
anesthetic, and the patient may be able to go home the
same day. This relatively minor surgery removes the cloudy
lens, allowing light to again pass freely to the retina.
In most cases, the lens is replaced with an intra-ocular
lens implant, a plastic lens surgically fitted inside the
eye.
While patients may need to wear glasses or contact lenses
after cataract surgery, in most cases their vision is
better after the operation than before it.
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Glaucoma
Optometrists are often the first people to detect a vision
damaging condition, providing the front line of help for a
range of vision disorders.
Because conditions like glaucoma often develop slowly and
painlessly, they are often first noted by an optometrist
when their patient undergoes a routine eye examination.
When vision is reduced because the nerve cells that carry
information from our eyes to our brain are damaged, we
have what is known as glaucoma.
The condition is often associated with an accumulation of
fluids in the eye, the resultant pressure causing the
damage. Because it usually occurs in people over the age
of 40 years and often runs in families, optometrists
recommend these people have regular eye examinations.
Although damaging, modern examination techniques and
treatment have made glaucoma a rare cause of blindness in
Australia.
The condition often develops unnoticed. There may not be
any symptoms until it is too late, although sometimes
people experience blurred vision, seeing colored rings
around lights, loss of side vision and sore, red eyes.
Optometrists can painlessly diagnose glaucoma by looking
at the nerve fibers in the back of the eye, measuring the
pressure in the eye, and by testing side vision with an
instrument called a perimeter. Initially eye drops and
medicines can treat glaucoma and in some cases surgery may
unblock the errant drainage system in the eyes.
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Diabetes
Around 420,000 Australians, or 2.5 per cent of the
population, have diabetes. Of these, almost one in three
suffers some form of damage to their vision, a condition
known as diabetic retinopathy. Optometrists play a
fundamental role in diagnosing these conditions in their
early stages, when they respond best to treatment.
Diabetes sometimes causes the focusing ability of the eye
to weaken or to fluctuate from day to day. This
characteristic often has led to optometrists diagnosing
diabetes in their patients. The problem eases when blood
sugar levels are controlled by a doctor.
After diabetes has been present for some years changes may
occur at the back of the eye in the retina. These changes
are known as diabetic retinopathy. There are two types of
this condition, background (sometimes called simple)
retinopathy, and proliferative retinopathy.
The eye disease glaucoma is slightly more common in
diabetics than in non-diabetics. Glaucoma is a condition
in which the nerve cells that transmit information from
the eye to the brain become damaged, often caused by an
accumulation of fluid in the eye. Untreated glaucoma can
cause tunnel vision and blindness.
Cataracts are more likely to occur in diabetic people at
an earlier age than in non-diabetics. A cataract is a
cloudiness that can form in the lens inside the eye.
Glaucoma and cataract are readily detected at your regular
eye examination. It is advisable for all diabetics to have
annual eye examinations. People with retinopathy should
have eye examinations more frequently than once a year.
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