The Solution to Common Eye Complaints

Myopia (Near Sightedness)

Myopia or near sightedness is a refractive eye disorder that affects our eyes' long distance vision. People with myopia have no difficulty focusing their eyes on close-up objects, but have varying degrees of difficulty focusing on more distant objects. It often first appears during childhood and gradually worsens with age - this is known as myopic creep.

The major cause of myopia is an abnormal elongation of the eyeball, where it becomes stretched from front to back, or the curvature of the cornea is greater than usual. The distance between the retina - the light sensitive part of the eye on the back wall of the eyeball - and the cornea at the front of the eye increases, and so light rays entering the eye come to focus in front of the retina. This leaves a 'blur circle' on the retina itself as the light rays cross paths and begin to diverge beyond the focal point.

Recent studies have revealed that although myopia can be hereditary, it is also accentuated by chronic use of the eyes for short-distance focusing, such as when working at a computer screen. Evolution has programmed our eyes to naturally focus in the middle to long-distance when our eyes are at rest. To focus on close-up work our eye muscles must tense, thickening the eye lens, in order to focus the light rays upon the retina. Persistent or prolonged short-distance focusing causes pressure to increase in the vitreous chamber of the eye, thus elongating the eyeball.

Pinhole glasses offer instant relief as the 'stopped down' aperture produces a greater focal range. Combined with the 'narrower than normal' beam of light entering the eye, pinhole glasses reduce the the blur circle on the retina, so enabling the eyes to see more clearly.

Hyperopia (Far Sightedness)

Hyperopia or far sightedness is a refractive eye disorder caused by a shorter than normal eyeball or a flatter than usual cornea. Light entering the unaided eye comes to focus behind the retina, thus casting a blur circle on the retina itself. People suffering from hyperopia find it difficult to focus in the short-distance, whilst have fewer problems focusing in the middle to long-distance.

Young people with this condition can naturally improve their vision by working the focusing accommodation of their eyes. By continuously trying to focus in the short-distance their eye muscles will become stronger, enabling the eye lens to shorten the focal length of the light rays, and therefore decrease the blur circle on the retina.

Pinhole glasses, whilst not suitable for the hyperopic young, can be used for far sightedness in later life when the eye muscles weaken with ageing. They offer instant relief as the 'stopped down' aperture produces a greater focal range. Combined with the 'narrower than normal' beam of light entering the eye, the blur circle on the retina is decreased, so enabling the eyes to see more clearly.

Presbyopia

Presbyopia is a condition that affects many people from their mid-40s onwards. As we age our eye lenses become less flexible, making it more difficult for us to focus in the short-distance. The weaker eye lenses gradually becomes less able to focus divergent light rays onto the retina, moving the focal point backwards beyond the retina. As with hyperopia, a gradually expanding blur circle is cast upon the retina itself, blurring our vision.

Pinhole glasses offer relief in the short-term, as the 'stopped down' aperture produces a greater focal range. Combined with the 'narrower than normal' beam of light entering the eye, the blur circle on the retina is decreased, so enabling the eyes to see more clearly. It is recommended however, that pinhole glasses should be used in conjunction with eye muscle strengthening exercises, so the eye muscles themselves are better equipped to keep the eye lenses more flexible.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism is a refractive eye disorder caused by a misshapen cornea at the front of the eye. A normal cornea is spherical in shape, but some people are born with a more oblong shaped cornea that projects two points of light on to the retina at the back of the eye. The resultant image processed by the brain is blurred, the degree of blur determined by the distance between the two points on the retina. The closer the points are the less blurred the image appears.

Pinhole glasses reduce the blur of astigmatism by limiting the distance between the two points of light on the retina, thus helping sufferers to see more clearly.

Cataracts

Cataracts are opacities that form on the lens of the eye, often in later life as dead cells in the eye lens accumulate. Cataracts are seen as white cloudy areas within the pupil - a projection of the cataract on the lens which is located immediately behind the pupil. People with cataracts suffer from blurred vision, as the cataract scatters light entering the eye, so preventing it from focusing on the retina. The amount of light scatter is worse when the pupil size is larger.

Pinhole glasses help to reduce light scatter by stopping down the pupil to the size of the pinhole. Less light scatter occurs, and vision is improved.

Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)

More and more people now spend their days working at computer screens. Many experience eye strain, headaches, fatigue, dry eyes or blurred vision when using a computer for lengthy periods of time. These complaints constitute Computer Vision Syndrome, and businesses lose thousands of dollars every month due to time off or sickness because of it.

Computer Vision Syndrome is attributed to the often harsh light of the computer screen, the need of the user to constantly focus on the screen, and the glare of office lighting or lighting in the surrounding environment. Anti-radiation screens, prescription 'computer glasses' and ergonomically designed work environments are all solutions to the problem, with varying cost implications and results.