Yes, in most people I can get them to see 20/20 at distance and at near. But, there is so much more to your vision than just a pair of glasses to correct them.
There are several nerves that innervate vision, muscles, and sensation of the eyeball itself. Not to mention internal muscles that focus the eye and the tears that bathe the eye. All of these systems need to be functioning correctly to see crystal clear and comfortably. Here are a few that I commonly come across that may surprise you:
Tears: The first surface that contributes to vision. If the tear film is not smooth or even, your vision will not be clear. It may even fluctuate with blinks or water excessively. Most disorders of the tear film are considered “Dry Eye Syndrome”. There are SO many causes and treatments, that I’ll have to do a few more blogs about them. The biggest takeaway is that Disorders of the Tear Film/”Dry Eye” do not always leave you feeling dry.
Cornea: The clear vaulted surface of the eye in front of the iris is meant to be crystal clear. It consists of 5 layers that are bonded together by junctions and pumps that move fluid between them. The tear film keeps it moist and therefore translucent. If the pumps or junctions are imperfect, then your vision may reflect that as well. Some are manageable, and some need special attention such as contact lenses or certain eye drops. These are more likely to develop as we age, but some are diagnosed in the teen years!
The cornea is the most densely innervated tissue of the body, and therefore it can be quite menacing to have those nerves’ function decline. That can happen with age, contact lens wear/abuse, LASIK, cataract surgery or long-term medication use. If these nerves are impaired, there is no discomfort and no feedback loop to the cornea to help it function properly. (This is where we would use an amniotic membrane)
Muscle imbalance: No, it’s not an eye turn in or out, it’s an imbalance. If your eyes have a tendency to sit out or in, then your muscles have to compensate for that difference. Every time you look at something up close (within arm’s reach), your eyes have to turn ever-so-slightly inward in order to see single comfortably. If your eyes have a tendency to sit outward, you have to compensate for that tendency AND then turn in even more to have comfortable vision. That’s a lot of work. Personally, I do nearly 8 hrs of computer/phone work a day. That’s a lot of work for those muscles to do! We can use Vision Therapy or Neurolens to relieve these symptoms.
Poor focusing: It happens to us all in our 40s. We lose that ability to focus up close and we try to hold things as far away as possible. BUT, this can occur in younger patients as well. It can come just the way you were born, or be caused by some medications (some ADHD/ADD medications can do this). In these cases, you can get a bifocal or an anti-fatigue lens to help do that near work for you. I’ve just named a few of the considerations that I run across the most frequently. What I really want to draw attention to is that just because you can see 20/20 does not mean that your visual system is at its best potential. I check all of these systems on each patient to ensure that I can have your eyes performing at their best for you every day.