Vision Basics
One of the best things you can do for your baby blues (or
greens, or browns, or hazels, or whatever color your eyes are) is to have them
checked by your doctor whenever you have a physical or examination. If you're
having issues seeing or are getting frequent headaches, particularly at the end of
the day, make sure you have your eyes examined by an eye
specialist.
An ophthalmologist (pronounced: ahf-thuh-mah-luh-jist) is a
medical doctor who specializes in examining, diagnosing, and treating eye diseases and eyes in general. An optometrist (pronounced: ahp-tah-muh-trist) is a specialist who is not a physician, but has been trained to diagnose and treat many of the same eye
conditions as ophthalmologists, except for treatments involving surgery.
It's a good idea to have your eyes checked at least every 2
years or even more frequently if you have a family history of eye problems such
as glaucoma or early cataracts.
Common Vision Problems
Have you ever wondered whether there's any truth in some of
the stuff you may have been told about how to treat your eyes? For example, you
may have been warned that sitting too close to the TV or computer can ruin your
eyes. But actually that's wrong. You may also have heard that using a
night-light (instead of bright light) to read will cause nearsightedness, but
there's no clear scientific evidence to support this idea. You can strain your
eyes if you don't have enough light when you read, but it won't ruin your
vision.
So what's the cause of many common vision problems? Often,
eye shape is the culprit. Someone with perfect 20/20 vision has eyes that are
basically round like a baseball. Someone who needs corrective lenses to see
usually has eyes that are shaped differently.
Myopia (pronounced: my-o-pee-uh), or nearsightedness, is one
of the most common problems teens have with their eyes. When a teen has myopia,
he or she is unable to focus properly on things that are far away. People with
myopia have eyes that are a little longer than normal, measuring from the front
of the eyeball to the back. This extra length means that light focuses in front
of the retina (the part of the eye that receives images and sends them to the
brain) instead of on it, and that affects vision. Glasses or contacts can
easily correct this problem.
Hyperopia (pronounced: hi-puh-ro-pee-uh), or farsightedness,
is another problem. People with hyperopia have trouble focusing on things close
up because their eyes are too "short" from front to back. In people
with hyperopia, light focuses behind the retina instead of on it, causing
blurry vision. Someone with significant farsightedness will need glasses to
correct his or her vision. But here's an interesting fact: Many babies are born
farsighted! Their eyeballs get longer as they grow, and most of them outgrow
the condition.
Another condition where the eye is differently shaped is
astigmatism. Here, the cornea isn't perfectly round. To be able to see well —
either close up or far away — the person needs contact lenses or glasses.
Once people reach 18 and their eyes are fully grown and less
likely to change, some people choose to have refractive surgery to correct
myopia so they don't have to wear contacts or glasses anymore. Refractive
surgery is a procedure — usually done with a laser — that reshapes
the eye to change the way light enters it and forms an image, allowing a person
to see better. Refractive surgery can sometimes also be done on people with
farsightedness or astigmatism once their eyes have matured and stopped growing.
Dealing With Common Eye Problems and Injuries
The best rule of thumb for when to see an eye specialist if
you injure your eyes is "when in doubt, check it out!"
*
If you have a red eye, pain in an eye that doesn't go away within a short
period of time, or at any time have had changes in your vision, then it's time
to have your eyes checked.
*
If you get any small foreign objects in your eye, such as sand or sawdust or
metal shavings, don't rub it. Flush your eye for several minutes with lukewarm
water (it may be easiest to do this in the shower). If it still feels as though
there is something in your eye, then be sure to see an eye specialist.
*
If you've been hit in the eye and it looks strange or appears to be bleeding,
or if you have changes in or lose your vision, go to a hospital emergency
department right away to be checked out.
One of the most common eye injuries is a scratched cornea,
which is often related to wearing contact lenses or playing sports. With a
scratched cornea, it may feel like something is in your eye when there's really
nothing there. Your eye may get red and irritated, produce lots of tears, and
be overly sensitive to light.