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303.2020.NOW Contact Us

Vision Correction

in Denver, Colorado

If you visualize the inside of a camera, you have a fairly good idea of how our eyes work.

1. Light enters the eye through the cornea, the clear round part at the front.
2. Because the cornea is curved, it bends those light rays as they travel towards the back of the eye.
3. As they pass through the eye's crystalline lens, they're further bent, or refracted, because the lens is also curved.
4. In perfect eyesight, they land exactly on the retina, the back inside surface of the eye, which is like the film for the camera.

When the light rays land perfectly on the retina, we see a clear image of whatever they have traveled from, let's say, a house. The light rays carry house information which is carried to the brain by the optic nerve, traveling from the retina to the ophthalmic center of the brain. Our brain then interprets that information, finds a name for it, and we then think, "Ah, there's a house!".

Common Vision Problems

Nearsightedness

When the light rays are bent too much by the cornea and lens, they land in front of the retina instead of right on it. This produces a blurry image which the brain has trouble recognizing, and perhaps we think, "Ah, there's a bus" (instead of a house!). Objects close up are clearer than those in the distance.

Farsightedness

Something similar happens if the light rays land behind the retina. That image is again fuzzy and we aren't sure what we're looking at. Objects at a far distance are clearer than those close up.

Astigmatism

This is the name for irregular curvature of the cornea. An astigmatic cornea has more than one curvature, so that light rays become scattered instead of focused. Many people have a certain amount of astigmatism but only a few have it severely. It distorts vision at all distances.

Presbyopia

Our eyes are affected by aging, just as the rest of the body is. In the eyes, there are tiny muscles which control the crystalline lens, making it less or more curved, to bend the light rays less or more, and that is how we can see clearly at all distances. This is called accommodation.

In an older eye, the lens becomes more stiff. The result is reduced ability to change focus, so that we can see relatively well for distance (if the patient does not have nearsightedness or astigmatism) , but increasingly poorly for close up vision. That's when reading glasses become necessary.

Please call or email us to set up your free initial evaluation. You can have all of your questions answered, have a look at our state-of-the-art facilities, and meet our world class vision correction staff as they do their utmost to provide you with an outstanding life-enhancing experience at 20/20 Institute. Give us a call today.