If you have trouble seeing objects at a distance, it's likely that you suffer from myopia. Myopia is also known as nearsightedness. It occurs when your cornea, the white part of your eye, develops an excessive curve. This affects the way your eyes perceive light, which is the basis for the signal your optic nerves send to your brain. Fortunately, myopia can be corrected using eyeglasses and other vision aids. If you believe you need eyeglasses, here are four things you should do:
1. Make an appointment at an eye care center.
If you believe you need glasses, you will need to be professionally diagnosed by an eye doctor. Eye doctors specialize in vision and eye care, and they can perform a series of tests to determine whether or not you need glasses. They will measure your ability to focus, your peripheral vision, as well as the strength of your vision. You will be asked to read a series of letters and numbers off a chart to determine how poor your vision is.
2. Obtain a prescription.
Using a series of lenses, your eye doctor will find a prescription strength that restores your sight to 20/20 vision or better. Your prescription can change over time, but eyeglasses prescriptions usually last for two years. Some people require different prescription strengths in either eye. Your eye doctor will write you a prescription that includes information such as your pupillary distance, which will be necessary for the purposes of crafting your glasses.
3. Select glasses frames.
Some people who wear glasses need them only to read or drive. Others with more significant myopia need to wear their glasses constantly. No matter how often you wear your glasses, you'll want to purchase frames that are both stylish and comfortable. Many eye care centers offer eyeglass services as well as optometrist appointments. When you purchase glasses from your eye doctor, you'll have the opportunity to try frames on in person, so you can see if you like the way they look on your face. You may want to select two frames so you can have an extra pair of glasses as backup.
4. Get used to your new glasses.
After you select your frames, you will need to wait as your new eyeglasses are made. This process usually only takes a couple hours. When you first put on your new glasses, you may feel like you have a headache at first. As your eyes adjust to glasses, you will feel better and be able to take advantage of your new crystal clear vision.
When you look in the mirror and focus on your eyes, what do you see? Hopefully you see a strong and vibrant person — someone who enjoys and embraces life. Hopefully you also see a set of healthy eyes, although that can be tough to determine just with a glance in the mirror. Eyes can look healthy on the surface when really something sinister is going on inside of them. That's one reason why visiting the eye doctor is so important.
If you would like to learn more about eye health, optometrists, and even contact lenses, you've come to the right place. We curated the articles on this website very carefully to provide you with the best information on these topics.