Sight is important. Your sense of sight provides you with extensive information about the world around you and is used in just about every one of your day-to-day activities from reading to driving, which may be why it is considered one of the most precious senses. Understanding your vision health needs can be one of the best ways to preserve and protect your sight.
You may hear about far or near sighted at your next eye appointment. These are two different problems with different solutions. In normal vision, images and light are focused directly on the retina. This allows them to see objects close up and far away. Nearsightedness is called myopia. In myopia images are focused on retina or in front of it. With myopia, things that are closer appear clearer while farther away appear blurry. You may notice that you tend to hold books, magazines and pictures closer to your face. People began to squint to see street signs or TV screens, and children may struggle to read the chalkboard or fall behind in their school work.
Farsightedness is known as hyperopia. With hyperopia images are focused behind retina. Hyperopia complete opposite of myopia and has some pretty noticeable differences. You may find that you are having to hold a book further away to read but can still see distant objects or signs quite clearly. Objects that are closer may be more difficult to see, and you may struggle to focus on the words in your book or on your screen if they are too close to you.
These conditions can interfere with your work, school, driving safety and quality of life, and they can trigger headaches or migraines in susceptible people. However, they are also both highly treatable. If your optometrist diagnoses you with near- or farsightedness, he or she may recommend glasses for correcting problem sight. Eyeglasses help refract, or bend, the light so that it is properly focused on the retina. Contacts work similarly and may be another option for both near- and farsightedness. You may also be able to get it handled through corrective procedures, such as LASIK or refractive surgeries, which reshape the cornea to improve vision.
Regular eye evaluations can catch early signs of vision changes, which may not be noticeable to you in their early stages. Most experts recommend annual eye exams, but if you have a history of vision or eye health issues, you may need more frequent checkups.