Finding out you need reading glasses comes as quite a shock to many people, particular for those who have spent their entire lives with great sight. It is an unfortunate sign that we are no longer as young as we once were, and there are a whole lot of myths that go hand in hand with needing reading glasses once you are in your 40’s.
Keratoconus is the most common condition of a group of corneal dystrophies that also includes keratoglobus and pellucid marginal degeneration. It is a thinning of the central zone of the cornea with the thinner area bulging forward, resulting in distorted sight that often cannot be adequately corrected by glasses.
Pseudostrabismus refers to eyes that appear to be turned, but are actually straight. This is quite a common condition in babies and young children due to facial structures. Known as “prominent epicanthal folds”, the wide bridge of the nose and the inner folds of the eyelid skin on the nose-side of the eye contribute to the appearance by covering the “whites” of the eye. This is often more noticeable in of East Asian ethnicities, where the lower fold of the upper eyelid gives the eyes a relatively narrower and almond-like appearance.
The word ‘dyslexia’ comes from the Greek and means ‘difficulty with words’.
“Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which mainly affects the development of literacy and language related skills”*
Convergence insufficiency is a common but often overlooked vision problem that is estimated to affect between 5-10% of the population. It has been linked with “ADD-like” behaviours in children due to the person’s inability to sustain two-eyed alignment and focus during near visual tasks such as reading and writing.