If your having trouble seeing, have no fear—vision problems are more common than you think. In fact, many people visit Tri-State Eye with symptoms related to refractive eyesight issues, including eye strain, glare, and double vision. To help better understand what this is, their team explains what the most common refractive visual conditions are and when to call a physician about them. 

Eye Doctor’s Most Common Vision Problems

Most visits to the eye doctor are for what experts refer to as “refractive errors,” including conditions such as astigmatism, farsightedness, and nearsightedness. These conditions affect how the light is focused onto the retina.

Nearsightedness, or myopia, occurs when close objects appear clearly and far away items are blurry; this is due to the eyeball being longer than average. If you struggle to make out objects or text on the television or have difficulty with your vision while driving a vehicle, it may be time to see your eye doctor.

Farsightedness, or hyperopia, causes objects far away to appear clearly while reading up close is difficult.  This is a result of a shorter than average eyeball. If you experience eye strain while studying or working at your desk and have to stop your tasks because of a headache, aching eyes, or burning eyes, this could be your problem.  If difficulty with reading starts until after the age of 40, it could be due to a condition called presbyopia, where the natural lens loses its ability to change shape to focus up close.

Patients with astigmatism have an abnormal shape to the cornea or eyeball that makes objects appear fuzzy or elongated. Light sensitivity, particularly at night or while reading, could point to this particular condition. 

When to Call Your Eye Doctor 

Call your eye doctor to be screened for the conditions above if you experience typical symptoms of vision problems, including halos or fuzziness, headaches during or after reading, difficulty driving at night, or if you see double. If there are no other causes for the symptoms, these refractive conditions can be corrected with the appropriate glasses, contacts or in some cases, laser surgery.

Make a spring resolution to see more clearly. To schedule an appointment with your community eye doctor, call Tri-State Eye in Middletown, NY, and Milford, PA, at (845) 703-2020 or (570) 296-9696. To learn more about common eye diseases and disorders, visit their website.