Refractive error is a common eye disorder. Refractive error, in understandable technical terms means that the eye cannot reflect the light properly. Therefore, the vision on the respective side becomes blurry. Since it’s a common disorder, this symptom is usually ignored by most people, eventually leading to total blindness. While a simple diagnosis can help in recognising this condition, WHO estimates that nearly 153 million people worldwide still live with visual impairment because of uncorrected refractive errors. So, let’s get educated about the causes, symptoms and how to treat it.

Symptoms of Refractive errors:

Blurred vision is one of the most common symptoms for objects that are near, far, or both. Sometimes, because of the stress caused by the muscles results in headaches, so does prolonged squinting and frowning of eyes. Double and/or hazy vision also are symptoms of refractive errors. In children, one can observe this if any one or both eyes aren’t aligned properly. Continuous blinking of eyes, excessive rubbing of eyes, and frowning are also some signs you should look for in children.

Causes:

“Don’t sit too close to the TV”, “Don’t stare at your phone for long”
Have you ever heard these from your parents? We bet you did. There’s a strong reason behind it- to save your eyes. Looking at digital screens for long strains the muscles around the eyes, resulting in headaches and refractive errors. One other cause is through genes, which we can prevent from getting worse.

Treatment:

We’re all very well aware of the treatment with glasses. Putting on glasses acts as a medium to displace the point of contact of light inside the eyes, thus projecting the image crisp and clear. This method of treatment can only help in preventing further increase of the error. As an advancement to glasses, contact lenses came into play for those who don’t like to wear glasses. By placing them directly over the surface of eyes, we can correct the refractive error. These do come with a handful of limitations.

The best way to treat refractive errors once and for all is by going through a Lasik surgery. We, at Maxivision Eye Hospitals, have quite a successful expertise in Lasik surgeries. Lasik surgery is one where we can change the shape of Cornea for better visibility. This is a surgery with minimal pain that has basic conditions post-surgery.

We hope that this blog gives you an outline about refractive errors, their causes, and how to treat them. We have well-experienced doctors at hand ready to give the best solution possible. If there’s any inconvenience related to eyes, please book an appointment with one of our doctors.