Refractive errors problems > Symptoms, treatment and correction

Refractive errors can be simply divided to low and high. In high errors, vision is substantially worse, blurry and inaccurate. The eye itself is not capable of correcting such an error and therefore does not even try to do it. This error begins and ends with worse vision and it is not problematic to discover it.

To some degree we are capable of correcting low refractive error on our own. However, this activity leads to muscular and nerve exhaustion which is accompanied by a series of symptoms. A refractive error itself is not the cause of problems but it is rather the effort which is made to correct it. Because in this case vision tends to be normal these errors are more difficult to discover and the origin of problems tends to be sought somewhere else without any success.

Symptoms of refractive errors

The symptoms which accompany high refractive errors are not very apparent. Decreased visual sharpness is a dominant symptom. The best way to observe the consequences is to look at shortsighted children whose vision was not corrected. They appear to be less intelligent and clumsy in comparison with other children. After proper correction these symptoms not only disappear but moreover these children tend to have above-average results. However, they also tend to be more solitary, avoid sport activities and often grow up with different mental outlook.

The symptoms of low refractive errors are even more various. The effort made to correct these anomalies leads to disruption of the relation between accommodation and convergence. Farsighted children have to accommodate even when they look to the distance. When a shortsighted person makes an effort to see sharply he moves the observed object closer to his eye. Thus both of his internal ocular muscles are more strained.

Problems related to refractive errors

The problems increase in the cases of astigmatism, anisometropia and in coordination disorders of the ocular muscles. The pain caused by increased tension of the ocular muscles increases even more due to exhaustion from distinguishing blurry images in higher visual centers. These problems are even more common for neurasthenics, women with pelvic diseases (mainly during menstruation and menopause) but also for healthy people when they are under a lot of stress and anxiety, after spending a long time working on a computer or excessive TV watching.

The problems caused by low refractive errors can be sight-related, eye-related or others. Visual sharpness tends to be normal. In worse conditions, mainly in the case of insufficient illumination, vision becomes blurry. Relaxing the tension of the ciliary muscle leads to formation of blurry image and on the other side relaxing the tension of the ocular muscles leads to double vision.

Eye-related problems exhibit by the feeling of pressure, burning, discomfort and foreign bodies under the eyelids which seem to feel very heavy for a person. Rest or wiping the eyelids can bring about temporary relief. To continue to work causes real exhaustion and pain in the eyes. The eyelids, mainly their edges, tend to be red, irritated and this often leads to inflammation of the edges of the eyelids. The conjunctivas tend to be congestive and the eyes weep tears. People suffering from these problems look sleepy.

Other problems include mainly uncharacteristic headaches. These headaches can be localized in the area of eyes, in the depth of the eye socket or in the crown of head. They can spread to neck or arms. Frequently they are accompanied by sickness and vomiting. They usually occur after spending whole day at work but sometimes can occur also in the morning just after waking up.

Treatment and correction of refractive errors

For the treatment and correction to be successful it is essential to examine a patient in detail. The cause often tends to be sought somewhere else than in the eyes. Imperfect correction is a very common cause of the problems in the case of high refractive errors because it changes high refractive error into lower one. That does not necessarily mean that every low refractive error must be corrected.

Emmetropia (no refractive error) can be found only in very low percentage of people. The error of refraction which is not accompanied by any other problems, particularly when it is discovered in unphysiological conditions of cycloplegia, should not be corrected. The correction can disrupt the balance and lead to problems.

The eye cannot be corrected as an isolated optic device but must be corrected as the component of whole body. The eye-related problems can be the first symptoms of a serious disease and can help to diagnose it early which contributes to successful treatment of the original disease.