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If you're having trouble with your vision, your mom or dad can take you for an eye exam. Remember, the target is right in the center of the retina. The people who will make your glasses for you need these numbers to create lenses that will correct the way your eye bends light. A vision prescription is a piece of paper with numbers on it. In this case, a prescription doesn't mean medicine you'll pick up at the drugstore. If you need glasses or contact lenses, your doctor will write you a prescription. You know this if you've ever tried on somebody else's glasses! Because everyone's eyes are different, a pair of glasses that makes one person see wonderfully may look terribly blurry to someone else. Glasses or contact lenses correct vision because they allow the eye to focus light in the right spot on the retina - the spot that produces the clearest image. This can distort what a person sees and make things look blurry. This means that the cornea is an uneven shape, and it bends the light in different directions. With farsightedness, the image is focused behind the retina.Īnother refractive problem is called astigmatism (say: uh-STIG-muh-tih-zum). With nearsightedness, the image becomes focused in front of the retina. In both cases, the image is not properly focused on the retina.
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But some kids are very farsighted and need glasses or contact lenses. Some farsightedness in kids is normal because they can focus their eyes to make up the difference.
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Nearsightedness and farsightedness are common refractive problems. Nearsighted and Farsighted - Which Is Which?
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Laser surgery also can correct some vision problems, but it's not allowed for kids because they're still growing. In other words, they bend the light rays in a way that lets you see more clearly. Glasses or contact lenses work so well because they can correct refractive problems. If a person has vision trouble, it's often a refractive problem. Refracting is a big word that means bending light rays. The better your retina records the image, the more likely that your brain will interpret the image, and the more likely you will see the image clearly. Your eyes need to bend light rays so the image can be focused sharply on your retina.
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