Basic Terminology

Alright, let's talk about the eyes and some basic terminology that you'll encounter on a daily basis, as well as it will be important for properly filing insurance claims. So first we have, the right eye and the acronym for the right eye is O.D. Then we have the left eye and the acronym is O.S. and then we have both eyes and the acronym for that is O.U. Very, very important for knowing what it is and being able to identify the proper eye.

Next, let’s talk a little bit about refraction. What is the refraction, well refraction is natural light passing through the surface of the eye or the lens, the cornea and that light ray is bending and when it bends, it can cause a refractive error. So, what is the refractive error, so the first one is Myopia. Now, Myopia will create what is also known as nearsightedness so that means that objects that are far away are going to appear blurry, while an object that’s up close, like a book appears normal.

The opposite of that is Hyperopia or farsightedness. So, in this case, those objects that are at a distance are appearing normal but a book that I'm trying to read is appearing blurry. So, I can see fairly well far away at a distance, but I'm having difficulty reading up close. 

Then the next one is Astigmatism. Now, this happens when there's additional curvature on the surface of the cornea or the lens of the eye and it can cause headaches and just overall blurry vision. Now, all three of these lenses can help correct the refraction and improve your patient's visual performance.

Now, there's one other I want to touch base on and that is Presbyopia and this is normal part of the aging process. It typically starts to happen around the age of 40 and it's basically the lens starts to lose the elasticity of the eye and so again, it creates that farsightedness, meaning I can see at a distance, but when I'm starting to read a book or up close, it’s appearing blurry or farsighted.