COMMON VISION CONDITIONS

Nearsighted (Myopia) is a condition when you cannot see far away clearly. When you look at a distant object, everything is blurry and out of focus. Myopia can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or surgery (the most common being LASIK). 

Farsighted (Hyperopia) is a condition when you cannot see up close. The most common symptom in patients with farsightedness is a headache when reading or using the computer for an extended period. Hyperopia can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or surgery (the most common being LASIK).

Astigmatism is a condition where the curvature of the eye is aspherical (not round). Because the eye is not a complete sphere, the resulting images you see will be distorted. The most common symptom is slightly double vision. Astigmatism can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or surgery (the most common being LASIK)

Presbyopia is a condition where the eyes can no longer focus up close. It is a condition that purely depended on age. It commonly occurs after the age of 40. The inability to focus up close can be gradual or all of a sudden. Presbyopia can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. 

A cataract is an age-related condition when the natural lens inside the eye gets hazy/opaque/yellowing. When this occurs, vision will gradually decline as the cataract gets worse. A cataract is graded on a scale of 1-4, 4 being the worse. Once diagnosed with cataracts, the best action is to protect the eyes from UV light as much as possible. When a cataract reaches a scale of 3 or 4, cataract surgery will be the best option.  

Glaucoma is a condition in which the tissue of the optic nerve inside the eye deteriorates over time, which causes a constriction of peripheral vision (tunnel vision). The most common cause of glaucoma is elevated eye pressure. The first line of treatment for glaucoma is glaucoma drops. Nowadays there are surgeries that can slow down the progression of glaucoma and/or reduce the dependency on glaucoma drops. 

Macular degeneration is an age-related condition that causes a reduction in central vision. Macular degeneration occurs when the waste product of the retina (drusen) gets trapped within the retinal layers and causes damage to cells at the center of the macula. This leads to a reduction/distortion in central vision. Depending on the severity of the condition, it can be monitored or progressively treat with ocular injections.   

Keratoconus is a condition in which the clear part of the eye called the cornea is shaped like a cone. Instead of a normal round shape, the cornea protrudes outward like a cone. This will cause distortion and blurriness. Keratoconus patients can be treated with INTACS or Corneal Crosslinking. A scleral contact lens is the best option for correcting the surface irregularities in patients with Keratoconus.