What are refractive eye errors?
The cornea is a part of the eye that helps focus light to create an image on the retina. It works in much the same way that the lens of a camera focuses light to create an image on film. The bending and focusing of light is also known as refraction. Usually the shape of the cornea and the eye are not perfect and the image on the retina is out-of-focus (blurred) or distorted. These imperfections in the focusing power of the eye are called refractive errors.
There are three primary types of refractive errors: myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism.
Persons with myopia, or nearsightedness, have more difficulty seeing distant objects as clearly as near objects.
Persons with hyperopia, or farsightedness, have more difficulty seeing near objects as clearly as distant objects.
Astigmatism is a distortion of the image on the retina caused by irregularities in the cornea or lens of the eye.
Combinations of myopia and astigmatism or hyperopia and astigmatism are common. Glasses or contact lenses are designed to compensate for the eye's imperfections. Surgical procedures aimed at improving the focusing power of the eye are called refractive surgery.
In LASIK surgery, precise and controlled removal of corneal tissue by a special laser reshapes the cornea changing its focusing power.
Laser Eye Surgery Guide Index:
- Intro to Laser Eye Surgery
- What is PRK laser eye surgery?
- What is LASIK laser eye surgery?
- What is Epi - LASIK laser eye surgery?
- What is Wavefront LASIK?
- What is LASEK eye surgery
- What is Intralase eye surgery
- Laser thermokeratoplasty
- What are eye refractive errors?
- Is laser eye surgery right for you?
- Laser eye surgery exclusion criteria
- Before laser eye surgery
- On the day of laser eye surgery
- After LASIK laser eye surgery
- Common symptoms after laser eye surgery
- Possible complications of laser eye surgery
- LASIK-specific laser eye surgery complications
- LASIK surgery checklist
- How much does Laser eye surgery cost?
- Pioneering laser treatment could prevent blindness
LASER EYE SURGRY GUIDE
- Laser Eye Surgery
- LASIK Eye Surgery
- Wavefront LASIK Eye Surgery
- EPI LASIK Eye Surgery
- IntraLase LASIK Eye Surgery
- Z-LASIK Eye Surgery
- PRK Eye Surgery
- LASEK Eye Surgery
- LTK Laser Eye Surgery
- PTK Eye Surgery
OTHER EYE SURGERY
- RK Eye Surgery
- AK Eye Surgery
- CK Eye Surgery
- CLE/RLE Eye Surgery
- INTACS Eye Surgery
- Cross Linking Eye Surgery
- Blended Vision Eye Surgery
- Lens Implants
- IOL Eye Surgery