Frequently Asked Questions
Dr. Mark A. Wolmer
What is an Optometrist?
Optometry), one must graduate college and graduate a four year optometric
education. Internships may be taken at optometric offices or advanced
training at one of the Colleges of Optometry. An optometrist examines eyes,
prescribes glasses, contact lenses, or eye surgery, treats eye diseases for
the front part of the eye, and checks for disease and function in the ocular
system and related areas. If a functional problem exists, he may prescribe
or treat that issue. If a problem is outside his professional area, he will
refer to the appropriate individual. Optometrists do many things. It's fun
being an optometrist.
What is 20/20?
hear. It is very simple. What the average person can see at 20 feet, the
average person can see at 20 feet. That sounds weird, but consider this. A
person with better than normal vision can see, say, 20/15. That means he
can see at 20 feet what the average person has to be at 15 feet to see. A
person with poor vision may be 20/400. That means he has to be at 20 feet
to see what the average person can see at 400 feet. This is called Snellen
notation, named after the person who devised this concept.
Will glasses make my eyes worse?
corrects the visual defect as it occurs. A youngster may be becoming
nearsighted. The trick is to give him or her glasses that will allow this
person to see comfortably. But, the youngster's vision may still be
changing. If the glasses need to be updated, this may be misinterpreted as
though the glasses are causing the problem. Another situation is
presbyopia. This is the situation where an individual in their forties
experiences reading problems. The underlying situation is a gradual
hardening of the intraocular lens causing an increasing problem focusing at
near. This situation gradually progresses until the early 50's. When a
person gets reading glasses, and then their near vision gets worse, a
misinterpretation is the glasses made the problem worse, when, indeed, this
is a natural function.
How come my eyes get tired at the computer?
screen. This promotes a dry eye situation. Look away from the screen
regularly and blink, and/or use an artificial tear. Make sure it is an
artificial tear, and not a drop to "whiten" the eye.
If you need bifocals, the position of the bifocal may force you to keep your
head tipped back to see the screen. Obviously, this causes neck and body
strain. Further, there is what is called "Lag of Accommodation". Without
getting very elaborate, this means the person tends to focus behind the
screen and then shift back to the screen, back and forth, causing fatigue.
The PRIO system, which we use in our office, is specifically designed to
solve this situation. Check out the PRIO link on our home page.
Why should I have regular eye exams?
and systems in the eye and related parts. There are many things that can go
wrong which could, if not detected early, before you notice the symptom,
cause long term damage. A good thorough eye exam is the best insurance to
preserve and protect your good vision.
How can I throw away my glasses?
simply throw away your glasses. If you go to contact lenses, you should have
a backup pair of glasses. If you have one of the several types of vision
corrective procedures, such as surgery, you will probably become less
dependent on glasses. For example, I had Lasik surgery September 1997. As
I am presbyopic (see above) I have one eye corrected for distance and one
for near. I still use glasses for driving at night, and they have an
invisible bifocal which I use for extreme close work. The rest of the time,
I don't wear glasses!
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