Eye Glasses and Contacts

Astigmatism? No problem. Difficulty with near vision (presbyopia)? No problem. Our optometrists and ophthalmologists specialize in fitting all types of glasses and contact lens wearing patients. Our fit fees are among the most reasonable in the Madison county and Anderson area.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism is a common condition that affects many people – children as well as adults. People with astigmatism have blurry or distorted vision at all distances, varying with the strength of the astigmatism. They’re often nearsighted or farsighted, as well.

Astigmatism can interfere with daily activities that require seeing far away, like road signs, and close-up, like reading a magazine. Untreated, astigmatism can lead to headaches, fatigue, squinting and pain in the muscles around the eye.

There are two types of astigmatism. The first, called corneal, occurs when the cornea is more football-shaped instead of being round like a baseball. Light that enters an astigmatic eye has two points of focus both of which may be blurry rather than just one sharp point of focus on the retina like in a normal eye. The second, called lenticular, occurs from irregular curvatures and cataracts of the lens of the eye. Both types can be present at the same time.

Treating Astigmatism

Most astigmatism can be treated with eyeglasses or toric contact lenses. These contact lenses are thicker in the middle of the lens and thinner toward the edge. And since people with astigmatism can suffer from myopia or hyperopia, they can also be used to correct either of those conditions.

Pesbyopia

Presbyopia is an age-related condition. Don’t worry, it happens to everyone. As you reach your 40s or 50s, you may find it harder to focus on nearby objects like book or magazine print, especially in low light. Untreated, presbyopia can lead to headaches and eye fatigue when doing close work.

Starting around your 40s, the lens of your eye becomes less flexible, making it harder to adjust your focus quickly from far objects to near objects. And it can become tougher to focus on near objects at all as you get older.

Presbyopia shares some symptoms with farsightedness, but they aren’t the same. Farsightedness is caused by an irregularly shaped eye, whereas presbyopia occurs when the lens of your eye becomes less flexible, even in correctly shaped eyes, people that have had “perfect vision” their entire lives, or patients who have had previous LASIK surgery.

Treating Presbyopia

Presbyopia can be corrected with reading, bifocal or multifocal eyeglasses, or with bifocal or multifocal contact lenses. We offer several different glasses options and have many sample contact lens trial pairs onsite. Our versatile lenses allow you to see both near and far in each eye. Contact lenses also can be used in monovision, where one eye has a lens to see up close while the other eye has a lens to see far away. Depending on the extent of the monovision, a single lens may be all that’s needed.

Nearsightedness (Myopia)

Distant objects appear blurry.

People with nearsightedness have trouble seeing objects at a distance. Their vision is clear up close, sometimes up to just inches or feet away. Beyond that, objects become fuzzy or out of focus.

Myopia interferes with lots of day-to-day activities, like driving, taking classes, sports, even recognizing friends at a distance. And it can cause serious eye strain, fatigue and headaches.

Myopia occurs when the eye is too long from front to back, or the cornea’s curve is too steep. Typically, light entering the eye is focused in front of the retina instead of on it, resulting in blurry vision. Myopia often is first seen in children younger than 12. It may get worse with age until early adulthood, when it usually stabilizes.

Treating Myopia

To correct myopia, a lens that is concave, or thinner at the center than at the edges, is used to direct light away from the center of the lens and move the focal point of the light back so it reaches the retina.

Most nearsightedness can be corrected with eyeglasses or Contact Lenses.

Farsightedness (Hyperopia)

People with farsightedness usually can see objects clearly at a distance, but find it hard or impossible to focus up close. In severe cases, it takes constant effort to focus on objects at all distances.

Farsightedness can interfere with reading, writing and many close-up fine motor tasks, and can lead to headaches, fatigue and eyestrain.

Hyperopia happens when the eye is too short from front to back, or the cornea’s curve is too shallow. As a result, light entering the eye is focused behind the retina instead of on it, resulting in blurry vision. Hyperopia is sometimes seen in babies and children younger than about 8, but as their eyes grow, it can resolve itself.

Treating Hyperopia

Most farsightedness can be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Known as plus or convex, these lenses are thicker at the center and thinner at the edges. They bend the light toward the center and move the focal point forward so that light is focused on, rather than behind, the retina.