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Though a baby’s eye movements show that they collect visual information right from birth, they’re unable to focus much further than 30cms in their early days. After around a month they can look at the boundaries of close objects, and a month later see finer detail on those objects. There are still many questions about how much and how far infants can see, but what’s clear is that the development of the eyes doesn’t finish until the child is several years old. So regular check-ups with your optician are a vital part of protecting your child’s health.
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A person with myopia or short sight can see objects close to them clearly, but not far away. Myopia is caused by the shape of the eye; either the eyeball is slightly too long or the cornea (the clear covering of the front of the eye) is too steeply curved. Myopia is corrected by spectacles or contact lenses with lenses which are ‘minus’ or concave in shape. So if you’re short sighted, your prescription will have a minus lens power, e.g. -2.50D.
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A person with hypermetropia/hyperopia or long sight can see objects far away from them clearly, but not those close by. This is caused by the shape of the eye – the eyeball is slightly too short. It is corrected by spectacles or contact lenses with lenses which are ‘plus’ or convex in shape. If you’re long-sighted your prescription will have a plus lens power, e.g. +2.50D.
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People with astigmatism have an unevenly curved cornea (the clear covering at the front of the eye) or an unevenly curved lens inside their eye, shaped more like a rugby ball than a football. Imagine a rugby ball sliced in half, lengthways. It is corrected by spectacles with a cylinder shape built into the lenses at a certain angle. Contact lenses can also correct astigmatism – mild astigmatism can be corrected by an ordinary gas-permeable lens. Those who prefer a soft lens or have higher amounts of astigmatism can use specially designed, ‘toric’ soft lenses.
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Redness occurs when the blood vessels in the white of the eye, the sclera, expand. If the redness occurs in small localised areas, or spots, this is probably due to an injury. If the whole of the sclera appears reddened this might be caused by infection, allergy, glaucoma or simply tiredness.
Treatment for the red eye depends on what caused it in the first place, so if the redness doesn’t resolve itself call to us or your GP.
If you wear contact lenses and you suspect a mild redness in your eyes might be due to being in a smoky or dry environment, you can try eye drops for immediate relief. If this doesn’t work or if the redness is more severe, remove your contact lenses immediately and contact us.
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When opticians talk about intra-ocular pressure, (also known as IOP), they mean pressure of the fluid which fills the eye, rather than blood pressure in the vessels which keep the structures of the eye supplied with oxygen and nutrients.
High IOP is associated with the development of certain eye conditions, such as glaucoma. Regular eye examinations with your optician are the best way to reassure yourself about the condition of your eyes and vision
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This type of visual effect is known as a ‘floater’. It happens due to small clusters of cells breaking off the inside wall of the eye and floating in the gel that fills the eye. If you’ve only got a few of them, they’re unlikely to be significant but it’s always worth mentioning them on your next visit to you optician. Or If you get them regularly then visit us in Cornelscourt.
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Blind spots or ‘scotoma’ are small areas where no vision is present.
One of these occurs naturally in all people because the light-sensitive layer – the retina – lining the back of the eye is not continuous. There’s a gap in the retina where the optic nerve, which takes the visual information to the brain, leaves the eye. We’re not usually aware of this blind spot because our brains ‘ignore’ this small patch of missing information and ‘fill in’ our view. However in some eye diseases, the retina is damaged and new ‘holes’ appear within the field of vision, but these may not at first be noticed. After a certain amount of damage, the brain is unable to compensate for the lack of information and a person will then become aware of a gap in their vision
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A retinal detachment is a lifting of part of the layer which lines the back of the eye (the retina) away from its supporting layers. If the layers are not replaced quickly, the nutrients which keep the retina healthy cannot reach it and the cells die. Signs of retinal detachment therefore need urgent medical attention.
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Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness throughout the world. Its exact cause is not known. Glaucoma refers to a group of eye diseases that have common features including raised intraocular pressure, damage to the optic nerve, and sight loss. There are several types of glaucoma, including primary open-angle, closed-angle, secondary, congenital, and normal tension. The most common is primary open-angle glaucoma.
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There are several types of age-related macular degeneration.
The two most common are “dry” (or atrophic) macular degeneration and “wet” (or exudative) macular degeneration.
Dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD) affects the majority of those with age-related macular degeneration. Patients with dry AMD gradually lose the central vision in their affected eye as the macular degenerates. Dry AMD often occurs in one eye but it may affect the other eye at a later date. Patients with dry AMD often do not notice the changes in their vision, particularly if their dominant eye is unaffected.
Wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) occurs when the eye develops new blood vessels which grow up from the choroid towards the macula. Because these new blood vessels tend to be fragile they will often leak fluid under the macula. This causes rapid damage to the macula and can lead to the loss of central vision in a short period of time.
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Overexposure to Ultraviolet (UV) light contributes to a range of eye problems including photokeratitis, cataracts, cancer of the skin around the eye and may even contribute to age-related macular degeneration. Sunglasses can give good protection from the damaging effects of UV light.
Wraparound sunglasses are the best shape for long periods of UV light exposure. Large framed wraparound sunglasses protect your eyes from all angles, and are available with prescription lenses or without to wear in conjunction with contact lenses.
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Floaters are the effect of particles moving across the eye caused by small clusters of cells breaking off the inside wall of the eye and floating in the gel that fills the eye.
Unless there are many of them or they’re accompanied by other visual phenomena such as lights or a ‘curtain’ across the vision, they’re unlikely to be harmful.
It’s always worth mentioning them next time you visit your optician.
If they’re numerous and accompanied by other visual symptoms, get them checked out urgently by us.
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Flashes can occur for a number of reasons – if they appear to be patterned or zigzagged, it might be due to migraine.
However, most flashes occur together with floaters and are usually a result of the gel within the eye rubbing or pulling on the retina.
As with floaters, it’s wise to visit us if they become more frequent or worsen.
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Conjunctivitis is the most common eye disease in the western hemisphere. It’s an inflammation of the conjunctiva which makes the sclera appear reddened due to an increase in blood supply. An eye with conjunctivitis feels itchy and watery and sometimes there can be a sticky discharge, which feels uncomfortable and blurs the vision. Although conjunctivitis is sometimes referred to as ‘pink eye’, this only really refers to one type of the disease, bacterial conjunctivas’.
