Common Visual Problems
The LASIK Vision Institute > Am I a Candidate > Common Visual Problems
If you are nearsighted, farsighted or have astigmatism, The LASIK Vision Institute can reduce and/or eliminate your dependence on glasses and contact lenses.
To better understand laser vision correction and how the excimer laser can be used to dramatically improve vision problems resulting from a refractive error, we have prepared a short overview of how the eye works and various eye conditions.
When light enters the eye it is bent, or refracted, by a clear tissue on the front of the eye called the cornea. The cornea, in effect acts like a lens to focus incoming light onto the retina on the back of the eye.
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If you have myopia, or nearsightedness, it is because your eye shape
is too long and / or you have an excessively steep cornea.
As a result of this, light entering your eyes does not
focus on the retina as it should, but instead focuses
on images at a point in front of the retina. The result
of nearsightedness is that your distant objects appear blurry,
while near objects appear clear.
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If you have hyperopia, or farsightedness, it is because either your
eye shape is too short or you have an excessively flat cornea.
In farsightedness, light entering your eye focuses on
images at a point behind the retina. The result of farsightedness is that near objects you are seeing appear blurry, while distant objects
appear clear. In some cases, hyperopia may cause blurriness
at both distance and near.
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If you have astigmatism it is because you have a cornea that is not spherical
or basketball-shaped as is a normal eye, but your cornea is typically
shaped more like a football. The result of astigmatism
is that the objects you are viewing are not focused into a single image
and vision is distorted or blurry. Astigmatism can be present
alone or in addition to nearsightedness or farsightedness.
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If you have presbyopia, it is because you have the inability to focus on objects up
close. This occurs normally with age and usually becomes
apparent to people in their forties. Presbyopia results
from a change within the eye in which the internal lens
loses its ability to focus on close-up objects. Although
laser vision correction dramatically improves distance
vision, most people will still need glasses for close-up
activities. There are some options if you have presbyopia, which include monovision. Talk to one of our surgeons
regarding options for correcting presbyopia at the time of your
eye exam. |
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