Advances in eyeglass lens technology have spared even those with considerable visual deficits from wearing thick “coke bottle” glasses. However, even today’s thinner glasses bring their own set of problems. They can fog up, and frames (if not lenses) break. A new prescription means buying new lenses. And nearly everyone who wears glasses has experienced that sinking feeling when they simply can’t be found.
Contact lenses are an improvement for many people, but their drawbacks include a constant need to resupply, discomfort caused by allergies (forcing many to go back to eyeglasses), and higher risk for eye injury and infection.
LASIK eye surgery is a treatment option to correct myopia, long-sightedness, and astigmatism to give people another alternative to wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses.
LASIK Surgery Improves Eye Function
LASIK is a type of refractive laser surgery that reshapes the cornea, a clear membrane that rests on the eye’s surface and improves the major functionality behind the eye’s ability to focus. The cornea receives and bends light before sending it to the lens and retina, which forms and sends messages to the brain. By reshaping the cornea, LASIK can improve how it communicates with the lens and retina thus resulting in improved focus and vision.
Eyesight After LASIK
It’s important to understand that successful LASIK surgery will improve your eyesight but not necessarily restore perfect vision. Some people may need to wear glasses for reading or driving after LASIK surgery. Still, more than 90% of LASIK patients recover vision between 20/20 and 20/40 and that isn’t half bad if you’ve depended on glasses since you were a child.
Few patients regret having LASIK surgery. Being able to wake up and see significantly more clearly every day, and not having to grope for glasses, is very liberating. Similarly, people who wear contact lenses often need to wear readers as well. Contact lenses are also a constant expense, and there are days when they just won’t sit well on the eye and wearers have to resort to glasses anyway. Even for those wearing contact lenses, being able to see without constant maintenance is a huge quality of life improvement.
Over 40 with Presbyopia? Consider LASIK for Monovision
If you’re over age 40 and have a condition called presbyopia, you might already wear contact lenses that provide you with monovision. This strategy has the patient wear a lens for close-up vision in one eye and a distance lens in the other. Alternatively, reading glasses or readers may be needed at least some of the time. LASIK surgery can provide the same monovision without contact lenses and their associated issues. Some patients even find less dependence on readers as well.
Talk to Your Ophthalmologist About LASIK
You may be a candidate for LASIK if you have good general health and have no eye diseases. Here are some questions you should ask if you are considering LASIK surgery:
• Is my vision in an acceptable range for successful LASIK treatment?
• Am I at the best age for LASIK?
• Has my eyesight been stable enough that it won’t continue to deteriorate after
LASIK?
• IF LASIK doesn’t work as well as we hoped, what else can we do?
• What are LASIK’s side effects and risks?
Jill Smith is a writer with a vast array of subject matter expertise. Along with publishing articles for large and small businesses, she researches, writes and publishes reports on various public policy issues.
If you live in or around the Salt Lake Valley or travel there, consider Salt Lake Eye Associates [http://www.saltlake-eye.com] for quality LASIK surgery and other eye treatments.