The most common cause of avoidable vision loss worldwide is uncorrected error of refraction. They are easily addressed but have to be screened first before they can be managed. The eye can be too long or too short. There can be variable curvatures on the cornea or the lens cannot move as well as it used to.

Errors of refraction may be present at birth due to differences in the individual’s eye or cornea shape. It is essential for vision to be tested early so that sight is optimized. Newborns and toddlers may look “normal” but have blurred vision. It is difficult for parents to find out because children are either unable to verbalize or don’t know there’s a problem. Crude ways to determine if the child can see or not is to observe how he reacts to bright lights when presented to one eye at a time. If the child reacts violently to the brightness, jerks his head away or cries, then he can likely see the light. If one eye can’t see, the child will likely cry out if the better eye is covered, and not react if the affected eye is occluded.

Some teachers may report to parents that their child isn’t doing well in class - can’t read what’s on the board or has difficulty copying notes or performing in seat work. Or some may be squinting, with brows furrowed, possibly also complaining of headaches. Regular yearly check ups are key to managing this.

During the eye check up, the doctor might throw big words at you and you get embarrassed to ask what they mean. Here’s a quick rundown. Myopia or nearsightedness means the eye is too long or the cornea is too steeply curved, or both. Patients have difficulty seeing distant objects and may only be able to read up close. Maybe the doctor will say you have a grade of 200. This will be a minus lens so the real grade is minus 200. Kids with myopia will keep changing their spectacles to higher grades as the eye grows with the body and will only stop changing once the child stops growing.

People with Hyperopia or farsightedness either have short eyes or flat corneal curvatures, or both. These are corrected with plus lenses. If hyperopia is mild, vision may not be as poor because our lenses help us accommodate or focus.

As we age, the accommodating ability of the lens is gradually lost, and by age 40, we start to need reading glasses. A plus lens is also used to correct this so that we can read at near.

Astigmatism, previously discussed here (https://www.advocatesomi.com/opinion/astigmatism), is caused by a variable curvature in the cornea causing light to enter our eyes at different points, causing the blurring.

The best way to prevent these is to consult your eye doctor regularly. Don’t wait. Schedule your check up today.