What are nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism?
Nearsightedness occurs when the curve at the front portion of the eye, known as the cornea, is too steep resulting in blurred images in the distance. Farsightedness is just the opposite; the eye is not long enough or the cornea is too flat which results in near images being blurred. Astigmatism is the result of an irregular curvature of the cornea (i.e., the cornea is oval like a football instead of round like a tennis ball). In a normal eye, the cornea and the lens of the eye focus light to form an image on the back surface of the eye, known as the retina. With nearsightedness, the eye focuses or refracts light too much, causing images of distant objects to form in front of the retina and appear blurry. Farsighted eyes cannot effectively focus enough or refract light enough so that images closer to the eye are blurry.
Nearsightedness occurs when the curve at the front portion of the eye, known as the cornea, is too steep, resulting in blurred images in the distance. Farsightedness is when the cornea is too flat, resulting in blurred images close up. Astigmatism is the result of an irregular curvature of the cornea. In a normal eye, the cornea and the lens of the eye focus light to form an image on the back surface of the eye, known as the retina. With nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism the eye focuses light improperly, causing the images of objects to appear blurry.
