Educational Library
Glossary of Terms
Accommodation: your focusing system. This is your ability to focus between distance and near and everywhere in between.
Astigmatism: this has to do with the shape of the eye. Instead of the eye being perfectly spherical it is a little bit more egg or football-shaped. Another way to describe it is that there are two different curves on the front of the same eye. People are born with astigmatism. Almost all human beings who need visual correction have some astigmatism. People can have astigmatism while being either myopic, hyperopic, or can only astigmatism.
Blue Filters: filters on devices or lenses that stop the transmission of blue light into the eye. Blue light has been found to scatter the fastest and cause more eye strain and blur than other visible light. Blue light has also been implicated in increase risk of aging of the eye and skin.
Binocular Vision: Is how both eyes work together to create a clear image in the brain and create stereo vision or depth perception.
Bifocal Lenses: spectacle lenses that have two focal distances in it. These lenses are famous for making people feel old because they have traditionally corrected for presbyopia. These have a very distinct line in them creating the near area of focal distance.
Cataracts: are clouding of lenses inside the eye. There are several different types of cataracts and often multiple types will happen at the same time. Every human being will develop a cataract. The process of cataract development really begins at about 40 years old. Many times cataracts are not seen even in an eye exam under a microscope for a few years after they begin to develop. The biggest change people will begin to experience as they go through their 40s is an inability to focus between distance and near which is a stiffening of the lens that indicates the very beginning of cataracts.
Cataract Surgery: The surgical procedure of removing cloudy lenses from within the eye. The benefits of cataract surgery can far outweigh the risks of surgery due to the positive impact in the quality of life. Patients can choose from an assortment of lens implants that can correct vision almost fully and often improve visual acuity greater than any other corrective devices.
Computer Progressive Lenses: Computer lenses remove the distance vision component. They are very specifically for close/intermediate distances and near. They must be removed to drive and do most distance activities. There is no line component in them.
Diplopia: double vision most commonly can be from the posture of your eyes or astigmatism. When double vision has a sudden onset it is significantly more concerning.
Dry Eye Disease: irregularity in tear film due to a large amount of risk factors. One of the most common diseases that I see in my office.
Glaucoma: is an ocular disease process that comes from the flow of nutrients in the eye. The eye is a closed system that has a faucet and drain with no over-flow. If the faucet begins to run too quickly or the drain gets plugged up it can increase the pressure in the eye and cause damage to the neurons in the back of the eye. The end stage of glaucoma is blindness and because glaucoma is a very slowly progressing disease it does not create symptoms for patients to know there is a problem. Because of the lack of symptoms and severity of the disease during every routine eye exam all risk factors of glaucoma are assessed thoroughly by eye doctors. Recent studies have theorized the possibility of a risk factor for
glaucoma also being high stress lives.
Glare/haloes: most common complaints of people with astigmatism, binocular vision dysfunction or cataracts.
Hyperopia: Farsightedness. When people have difficulty seeing at near without their corrective lenses. Hyperopes need plus power for their correction. Being farsighted can be crazy-making because it can be very dependent on fatigue in a focal system. Most people who have never needed glasses until they are in the 40’s become hyperopic.
Lasik (or other refractive procedures): Refractive surgical procedures have advanced significantly over the years. The process of changing curves of the eyes based on changing human tissue has been around for years. However, options have become much more effective as advancements in technology have been made. Lasers are most commonly used in refractive surgery procedures allowing for better healing because of precision and speed.
Macular Degeneration: is a disease of the retina that begins in the macula. Because in it’s end stages macular degeneration can cause blindness all risk factors of this disease are assessed thoroughly in each routine eye exam. People who have a risk of developing macular degeneration are highly recommended to evaluate their nutritional habits. Many different types of prevention can be recommended for patients who have risks. Routine eye exams are the most important part of that prevention.
Myopia: Nearsightedness. When people have difficulty seeing at distance without their corrective lenses. Myopes need Minus power for correction. Myopia most often begins in early teens, but can happen earlier or later.
Neurolens: Is a new advancement in binocular vision testing and treatment. Traditional binocular vision testing has been subjective and therefore inaccurate and not repeatable. The Neurolens device objectively measures eye posture. Their patented designed lenses then treat posture issues to treat a multitude of symptoms from extensive near work or binocular vision dysfunction.
Ocular Surface Disease: dry eye disease can be variable and can become ocular surface disease which is an autoimmune issue. Because dry eye is most often asymptomatic the lack of treatment and diagnosis becomes impossible for the body to heal. The over-reactive inflammatory response is the bodies way of trying to heal the chronic damage by all of the different risk factors to dry eye.
Presbyopia: all human beings over 40 years old begin to loose the ability to refocus between distance and near. There are three parts that contribute to this becoming an issue. The lens begins to harden and the very beginnings of cataracts happen. The smooth muscle surrounding the lens causing the lens to flex between distance and near begins to deteriorate. And the zonules or rubber bands holding the lens in place begin to loose their elasticity. This creates the need for ocular devices to correct for distance and near for patients instead of their own focusing system doing it for them.
Progressive Lenses: progressive lenses are a no line multi-focal lens. They “progress” from distance to near gradually. They can take time to adapt to, however for the average person who has presbyopia they are a necessity for functionality. There are many different companies that make multiple different designs of progressive lenses.
Reverse Geometry Contact Lenses: hard contact lenses that are worn at night to flatten the cornea and allow for better distance vision during the day while not having a contact lens on the eye. They have been shown to have very good control of myopic progression in children.
Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lenses: hard contact lenses that are fully customizable for fit and vision. They have much better quality of visual acuity and correct for more irregular prescriptions. They tend to be very uncomfortable and take a significant amount of adaptation time.
Scleral Contact Lenses: hard contact lenses that are larger than all of the others that can treat diseased corneas as well as high prescriptions and ocular surface disease. They are much more comfortable than rigid gas permeable contact lenses and much more customizable than soft contact lenses. The biggest downside to scleral lenses are the cost.
Single Vision Lenses: spectacle lenses that will correct for farsightedness, nearsightedness or astigmatism. It only corrects to a single focal point.
Soft Contact Lenses: contact lenses to correct refractive error that are mostly generic in nature, most commonly prescribed lenses because of their comfort, cost, and ease of use.
Trifocal Lenses: spectacle lenses that have three focal distances in them. They were developed for people who needed the ability to see distance, near and intermediate areas. These lenses have two very distinct lines in them creating the near and intermediate area of focal distance.
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