A refractive error means that the shape or size of your eye doesn't bend light accurately, resulting in a blurred image. This occurs when the shape or size of your eyeball keeps light from focussing accurately on your retina (a light-sensitive skin of tissue in the rear side of your eye).
The number of people globally with refractive errors has been increasing. If you consider the rates, then it varies between regions of the world with about 25% of Europeans and 80% of Asians affected.
This is predicted to rise post-pandemic due to gadget use more than 50 percent of the world population will require glasses by 2050.
Myopia or nearsightedness which refers to difficulty seeing in the distance, is one of the most common conditions that needs spectacles. It occurs when the shape of the eye makes light focus in front of the retina.
Symptoms
• Trouble seeing things that are up to a point
• Needing to squint to see clearly
• Eye strain (when your eyes burning or itching)
Astigmatism generally occurs when the front face of the eye, the cornea, has an asymmetric curve. It occurs when your cornea (the clear frontal surface of your eye) or lens (an inner part of your eye that helps the eye focus) has a different shape or curvature than normal.
Symptoms
• Blurry vision
• Squeezing of eyes to see clearly
• Headaches
• Eye strain
• Trouble seeing at night
In Hyperopia, distance vision is clear while near vision is blurry. It occurs when your eyeball remains too short from front to back, or when there are problems with the shape of your cornea or lens.
Symptoms
• Trouble seeing things up close
• Eye strain
• Headaches — especially when reading
Presbyopia is the gradational decrease of your eyes' power to concentrate on nearby objects. It occurs because the lens (an inner part of the eye that helps the eye focus) stops focusing light accurately on the retina.
Symptoms
• Trouble seeing things in close range
• Needing to hold books or any material far from the eye to focus to read it
• Headache
A refractive error can be diagnosed by an eye care professional, an ophthalmologist, or an optometrist during a routine eye checkup. Testing generally consists of asking patients to read a vision table while testing a random selection of lenses to maximize a patient’s vision.
Special imaging or other testing is hardly necessary but in case of complicated eye power. As you can see, most of the symptoms for each refractive error are similar to another one.
It's important to schedule an appointment with your eye doctor if you notice any of the symptoms mentioned. During a comprehensive eye examination, the ophthalmologist or an eye care professional will be able to determine which refractive error is the source of your symptoms.
From there, proper treatment procedures will be suggested to the patient.
Eyeglasses are the easiest and safest way to correct refractive errors. Your eye consultant will define the right eyeglass lenses to give you the clearest possible vision.
These are the most effective ways of correcting the refractive error. Still, the accessibility and affordability of eyeglasses can present a difficulty for people in many low-income settings of the world.
As mentioned before refractive errors are because of the inappropriate focusing of the light in the retina. Eyeglasses work as an added lens of the eye serving to bend the light to bring it to the focusing part on the retina. Depending on the eyeglasses, they serve numerous functions.
Disposable lenses or Contact lenses sit on the front surface of your eyes and correct refractive errors. Your eye consultant will fit you for the right lenses and show you how to clean and wear them safely.
Many people choose to wear contact lenses. One style is hard contact lenses, which can distort the shape of the cornea to the required shape. The next style, soft contact lenses, are made of silicone or hydrogel.
Depending on the duration they're designed for, they may be worn daily or may be worn for an extended period, for a week. However, itching, redness, and difficulty arose in vision then stopped using lenses immediately.
Some types of surgery, like laser eye surgery, can change the shape of your cornea to fix refractive errors. Your eye consultant can help you decide if surgery is right for you.
These procedures can be done only once your child's age is above 18 years. Laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and Photo-refractive keratectomy (PRK) are popular procedures; while the use of laser epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) is expanding.
Latest technologies like Contoura Vision, SMILE, and ICL (Intracollamer Lens) are giving more promising results.
With the latest advancements in the treatment of refractive errors in children, Special Glasses like DIMS (Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments) by HOYA with the name of MiyoSmart and Stellest by Essilor are available to slow down the progression of Myopia.
Special eye drops consisting of low-dose atropine have also shown promising results. Talk to our Paediatric Consultant Dr Rasheena Bansal to decide what is best suitable for your child.
Feel free to Contact us at +91- 8130780790 for your Child's Eye Problems and any Eye Surgery needs.
The 4 common types of refractive errors are:
Nearsightedness (myopia) - difficulty seeing distant objects.
Farsightedness (hyperopia) - difficulty seeing close objects.
Astigmatism - A condition where vision becomes distorted due to an irregular cornea curvature.
Presbyopia - difficulty in reading or seeing at arm's length, often linked to aging.