Optometry

What eye problems can glasses and contact lenses treat?

People wear glasses and contact lenses to treat refractive errors. A refractive error causes blurry vision. It means your eyes have trouble focusing light properly.

Common refractive errors include:

Nearsightedness

Nearsightedness, also known as myopia, means that you can clearly see objects that are close by, but objects that are far away appear blurry.

Farsightedness

Farsightedness, also known as hyperopia, means you can clearly see objects that are far away, while objects that are close by appear blurry.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism is a problem with the way the eye focuses light onto the retina because of the eye’s shape. Astigmatism causes objects at all distances to appear blurry or distorted.

Presbyopia

Presbyopia is a normal vision change that usually begins around age 40. It affects your ability to focus on things that are close up, especially text. Presbyopia is usually the reason people get reading glasses.

Eyeglasses and contact lenses can allow you to see clearly.

Should I get glasses or contacts?

Prescription glasses and contacts each have their advantages.

Advantages of glasses include:

• Just about any adult can comfortably wear glasses
• They’re more affordable than contacts
• They require less work to care for than contacts
• They don’t directly touch your eyeball, unlike contacts
• They may be easier to tolerate if you have dry or sensitive eyes
• They can protect your eyes from wind, dust, and debris

Advantages of contacts include:

• They provide clearer, more natural vision, including peripheral vision, because they sit on your eye and move wherever your eye moves
• Unlike eyeglass frames, they don’t block any of your vision
• They’re not affected by weather conditions and won’t fog up like glasses in humidity
• They won’t break or fall off while you exercise

With advances in lens technology, there are glasses and contacts to fit just about every need. Your optometrist goes over your options at your vision exam.

What happens during a vision exam?

A vision exam includes various tests to help your optometrist determine how strong a corrective lens prescription you need. This includes a visual acuity test, also known as an eye chart test, which measures your visual acuity or sharpness (expressed as a fraction, like 20/20).

During a refraction, you look through a series of lenses and tell your doctor which lenses are clearer. This allows your doctor to fine-tune your prescription by measuring your degree of nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and/or presbyopia.

The team at Anwar Eye Center is happy to provide DMV eye exams if you need a vision test to obtain or renew a driver’s license and can help you fill out any necessary forms.

To schedule a vision exam at Anwar Eye Center, call or use the online booking tool.