Eyesight problems and solutions

What is ‘Myopia’ / near-sightedness?
Near-sightedness bothers about 25-30% of the population. It is a condition of the eye where the light that comes in does not directly focus on the retina but in front of it, causing the image that one sees when looking at a distant object to be out of focus, but in focus when looking at a close object.
How can we correct this?
At ‘The Optical Center’ we offer two solutions.
Glasses: corrective lenses with a negative optical power
Lenses: soft or medi-hard contact lenses

What is ‘Hypermetropia’ / far-sightedness?
Far-sighted are people that are unable to focus on objects on any distance. Although the eye should increase its optical power to keep the image in focus on the retina, this does not happen, as the power of the cornea and lens is insufficient. As a result, the image will appear blurred.
How can we correct this?
At ‘The Optical Center’ we offer two solutions.
Glasses: corrective lenses with a positive optical power
Lenses: soft or medi-hard contact lenses

What is ‘Astigmatism’?
The eye of a person with astigmatism is not shaped like a sphere, but is shaped more like a football. For this person, when light enters the eye it is refracted more in one direction than the other, allowing only part of the object to be in focus at one time. Objects at any distance can appear blurry and wavy. The most common symptom is that the patient fails to distinguish numbers and letters. (e.g. 0 with 8)
How can we correct this?
At ‘The Optical Center’ we offer two solutions.
Glasses: corrective lenses with the right optical power
Lenses: soft or medi-hard torical contact lenses

What is ‘Presbyopia’?
Presbyopia is part of the natural aging process of the eye, and can be easily corrected. Technically, presbyopia is the loss of the eye’s ability to change its focus to see objects that are near. It affects everyone at some point in life beginning at the age of about 40.
Glasses: corrective lenses with a positive optical power or multifocal glasses
Lenses: Multifocal contact lenses

What is ‘Cataract’?
A cataract is a clouding of the lens inside the eye which leads to a decrease in vision. Slowly the vision becomes more and more unclear and even with your glasses the vision does not get any better.
How can we correct this?
The cataract is conventionally treated with surgery. What we recommend is wearing protective sunglasses, even from small ages, because the UV-light has been shown to cause cataracts.

What is ‘Strabismus’ / crossed eyes?
In this case the eyes are not properly aligned with each other and a lack of coordination between the extraocular muscles is involved, which prevents bringing the gaze of each eye to the same point in space. Strabismus is present in about 4% of children. Treatment should be started as soon as possible to ensure the development of the best possible clear vision.
How can we correct this?
Depending on the type of strabismus and the age of the patient, corrective glasses or prismatic lenses may be used. They improve the vision and the eyes are aligned with each other.

What is the ‘age-related macular degeneration’ (AMD)?
This is a medical condition that usually affects adults (>50 years) and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. It is a major cause of blindness in older adults, or can make it difficult or impossible to read or recognize face.
How can we correct this?
This medical condition should be examined by your ophthalmologist. Through a special therapy the condition can be stabilised.
At ‘The Optical Center’ we offer the best magnifying lenses and low vision products to make your everyday life much more easy and to make reading possible again.

What is ‘Keratoconus’?
Keratoconus is a degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape than the more normal gradual curve. This causes myopia and astigmatism, which cannot be corrected through corrective eyewear. A better view can be reached wearing medi-hard contact lenses.