At Eye Physicians of Long Beach, it’s important that our patients have the best eye care possible. At our onsite Optical Shop, you’ll find a multitude of frames and lenses available. If you’ve never had glasses before, you may be wondering why you need them.
At a comprehensive eye exam with Eye Physicians of Long Beach, you’ll be asked to complete a basic vision test. During this test, our optometrists will be checking your eyes for any refractive errors. If you do have a refractive error, it means that your eyes are shaped abnormally, affecting vision. Many people have refractive errors and require the use of corrective lenses like prescription glasses.
If you have myopia, it means that you are nearsighted. When a patient is nearsighted, they can see very well when objects are up close, but not when they are at a distance. When you are nearsighted, light comes into focus in front of the retina, instead of on the retina as it should. This makes objects that are far away blurry and harder to see.
For those that have hyperopia, or farsightedness, it means that the eyeball is shorter than normal. When the eyeball is shorter, your eye has to accommodate more. This means that if you’re farsighted, you may have issues seeing things that are up close, and far away as well. It is important to catch hyperopia quickly, as it can lead to eye strain and eye fatigue if you are looking at nearby objects for a long period of time. Children with untreated hyperopia may end up developing crossed eyes, or strabismus, so it’s important to schedule your children regularly for their annual eye exams with Eye Physicians of Long Beach.
Presbyopia doesn’t develop until a patient is usually in their forties. This occurs when the eye ages, and the lens becomes less flexible. When the lens is less flexible, it will become more difficult to focus on objects that are close. Even if you’ve never needed glasses before, those with presbyopia will need glasses to see up close. Besides glasses, presbyopia can be treated with multifocal contact lenses and monovision, which allows each eye to focus separately. One will have a distance prescription, and the other eye will have a prescription for near vision. When both eyes work together, you’re able to see near and far.
If you are diagnosed with astigmatism at your routine eye exam with Eye Physicians of Long Beach, it usually means that your cornea is irregularly shaped. If you have a misshapen lens, this could be a reason for astigmatism as well. In an eye with astigmatism, the cornea is football shaped, rather than round. When you have astigmatism, you’ll have multiple focal points that could be in front of the retina, behind it, or both. Astigmatism results in blurry or distorted vision regardless of what distance that you are looking at an object.
If you notice changes in your vision, it’s important to schedule a comprehensive eye care exam as soon as possible with Eye Physicians of Long Beach. Sight is one of the most important senses that we have. Although wearing glasses or contacts may not seem ideal, it’s much better than going through life unable to see the important details! Have questions or think you might need glasses?
