Care for your vision now and in the future it will look out for you

According to the New Zealand Association of Optometrists, more than 81,000 New Zealand adults and 13,000 children are legally blind or have sight impairments that can't be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Many of these sight issues could have been prevented if they were detected early by having regular check-ups.

Look and learn

Vision problems in children often go unnoticed. According to optometrist Shirley Loh, parents should watch for symptoms and if any are spotted, ask for a referral to see an eye expert.

‘Optometrists have training and equipment for testing children's vision and can provide a reliable referral pathway for patients with suspected problems,' she says. Warning signs include:

Jerky or strained eye movements.

Frequent blinking.

Red or watery eyes.

Sensitivity to light.

Squinting into the distance.

Problems with blurred vision oritchy, dry eyes.

Positioning the head strangely when reading.

Holding reading material very close.

Frequent eye rubbing.

Headaches.

Inability to read the board at school.

Sitting too close to screens.

It's a long list, but any of these signs could indicate one of the following eye conditions:

 

Short-sighted

Myopia or short-sightedness, which runs in the family, means your eyeball is too long. You can't see objects in the distance because the image is focused in front of the retina.

Long-sighted

Hyperopia or long-sightedness occurs when the focus is too short so the image is blurred. If it's mild, squinting and forcing the lens to change shape will help a person see. Glasses and contacts improve reading ability and laser surgery fixes some cases.

Astigmatism

This occurs when the cornea, at the front of the eye, distorts vision at all distances. It can cause headaches and eye strain.

Presbyopia

This makes it hard to focus at normal reading distances. It comes on at about age 40, worsens up to age 65, then stays the same. Glasses and contacts may fix the problem.