by Aaron Barriga | Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK. Aaron loves collecting coasters from the different bars and restaurants he visits during his travels.
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LASIK eye surgery has become a popular solution to correcting eye problems and getting rid of your dependence on glasses. LASIK eye surgery is the go-to solution for people with eye problems of different kinds.
Before you take the big plunge of getting LASIK eye surgery done, you need to make a few things about vision problems crystal clear (literally and figuratively).
You need to define what sort of vision problem you have and if LASIK eye surgery can help you correct the problem.
What LASIK essentially does is it remodels the cornea and changes the way light enters the eye. So if you have an irregularly shaped cornea that is causing you vision problems, then LASIK eye surgery can help you correct that.
Here are the most common eye problems that can be corrected with LASIK laser correction surgery:
● Astigmatism
In this medical condition, distorted or blurred vision is caused when the eye fails to focus light on the retina. Astigmatism can be a birth defect or can develop gradually in life. In cases of astigmatism, the cornea is shaped like a football and is not the usual spherical or basketball-shape.
Astigmatism can be present alone or can be present along with hyperopia or myopia. LASIK for astigmatism is one of the most common corrective eye surgeries done to get rid of this vision disorder.
● Myopia Or Nearsightedness
If distant objects appear blurry to you, and nearby objects appear clear, then the medical term for your condition is myopia or near-sightedness.
Myopia or near-sightedness can be caused when your eye shape is too long, or you have a very curved cornea. This can cause the light entering the cornea not to be appropriately focused. Myopia affects nearly 30% of the US population, and there is evidence that myopia can be inherited.
● Hyperopia or Farsightedness
If you have vision where objects nearby appear blurry, while distant objects appear in proper focus, then the medical term for your condition is hyperopia or farsightedness.
Hyperopia or farsightedness occurs when the eye is not bending light properly, or the cornea has a very small curvature.
● Presbyopia
When your vision becomes unfocused on objects up close, the medical term for your vision impairment is presbyopia. People start noticing the effects of presbyopia after they turn 40.
LASIK Eye Surgery Can Change Your Vision
Getting LASIK eye surgery for vision problems means that the doctor is going to use an excimer laser to remodel the cornea to refract light for corrected vision properly. The doctor essentially remodels your cornea during this surgery. This is done using invisible light to reshape your cornea, without damage to the adjacent eye tissue.
Are You the Right Candidate for Laser Surgery?
Here’s our quick checklist to find out if you are the right candidate to get LASIK eye surgery:
☑ You have not suffered from any eye injury so far.
☑ You are not suffering from any eye diseases.
☑ You are in good shape overall — you don’t suffer from any diseases like an autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, or AIDS.
☑ Your prescription number is within certain limits.
☑ Your prescription number must be stable.
☑ You have not been wearing contacts recently.
☑ You are neither nursing nor pregnant.
Consult your optometrist and remove any doubts about whether you should get LASIK eye surgery to solve your vision problems.