Can Laser Eye Surgery Help Correct Astigmatism in Young People?

[Dooga Blackrazor]

I'm in grade 10 but I got to choose one course from three. French, Music or Biology. Well I choose Biology and anyway I didn't know what I had was called. But anyway I checked with my Mom and I have Astigmastism for things mostly far away but perhaps up close to an extent. My classes correct this but anyway.

When looking through microscopes I'm near sighted but I find its weird looking at it without my glasses. You aren't supposed to close your other eye so I cover it with my hand and use my glasses lol. Its annoying

Basically anyone else in this situation or heard tell of something like it that has any tips for microscope looking techniques.

 

[nautica]

Maybe you should have choosen English.

I use view with and without glasses. You just need to do what works best for you.

Nautica

 

[thunderfvck]

I wear glasses but I take them off when I'm using the microscope. I like to get my eyes all in there, so it's like me and the microscope one on one rather than the glare of the outside world. The microscopes my class used were bi-ocular, I think that's the term used. It has two eye pieces for both eyes rather than one, are you using the same thing? I found it difficult to get comfortable at first but then my eyes adjusted and it was fine. It also helped me tremendously when I moved the eye piece apart (so it can match the distance between your eyes) so my eyes fit in perfectly and that was very nice. Then I had to focus my eyes a bit and I was in the microscope realm.

 

[Monique]

As thunderfvck said, you can move the eye pieces apart or closer together to match the distance between your eyes. Than it is just a matter of adjusting the focus on the microscope to match your eyes.

 

[recon]

I have never used bi-ocular microscopes before, so I would like to know if having one eye that can see clearly (both near and far) and another that is very near-sighted would inhibit my usage of this particular type of microscope. Would I have to look through my glasses or are the glasses not necessary? I also suffer from astigmatism, so is there any hope for a visually-incapacitated person like me?

 

[Monique]

There is a central knob for focusing on the sample, that is usually down near the table when you extend your arm. It should ALSO be possible to adjust the focus of the eye pieces themselves by turning on the oculars that you look through.

I don't know what astigmatism means though.. going to google..

 

[Monique]

ah, I see. Well, it all depends: are your glasses able to focus the light correctly on your retina? If your glasses can, the microscope will too

If your glasses can't but the microscope CAN than it's time to visit the opticien (eye doctor)

 

[Monique]

I don't know the answer myself, but recon: shouldn't laser treatment be able to correct the astigmatism?

I've heard about high level research going on, where the eyes are scanned with light after which a map is made of all the irregularities. The idea is that all these irregularities could be corrected with computerized laser surgery, resulting in super-vision! :) The fact is that all of us have flaws in our eyes, but our brain makes up for it, compensates it out.

We all have two blindspots in which we can't see.. I once accidentally discovered mine, which was really cool! I was able to let my mug disappear by willpower alone, and let it reappear again but that is another subject..

 

[Evo]

I am nearsighted and have an astigmatism in my right eye. When I use both eyes together, my left eye compensates for my right.

I know exactly what problems Dooga is experiencing. We tend to be "right" or "left" eyed similar to being right or left handed. Dooga, you could try using your "better" eye, but I am guessing that the "bad" eye is the one you prefer, or perhaps you have an astigmatism in both?

It is annoying. I tend to take my glasses off and try to compensate with the adjustments to the microscope.

Laser eye surgery is expensive, but would be helpful. I just wonder about what happens if you have the procedure when you're very young (since the eye changes as you get older) the procedure has only been around for around for a little over 20 years?

 

[Moonbear]

Monocular microscopes are just a pain to get used to using, and bad for your eyes if you use them a lot. Having an astigmatism won't affect using it. With monocular scopes, there won't be any focus adjustment on the ocular itself, those are present on bi-ocular scopes to get both eyes focused together. Try looking through the ocular with your other eye. Everyone has a dominant eye, one that we look through more than the other, so you may be using your weaker eye. When looking through the eyepiece, try moving your head a little to see if your field of view improves. Other than that, just try to concentrate on looking through just that one eye, and worse comes to worse, just close the other eye. I don't agree that it does any good to keep that eye open and any real microscopy is done with bi-ocular scopes, so it's not a skill you need to get very good at. A tip for focusing...start with the stage all the way up, this way as you start focusing, you're only moving away from the objectives, not toward them, which keeps you from accidentally damaging the lens or slide. Slowly move the stage down until your specimen comes into focus. Chances are if your school still has old monocular scopes, the lenses are probably in pretty bad shape too...not much I can do to help that problem, other than if you move the specimen and something you're looking at doesn't move, then it's on the lens, not the slide.

Most people find it easier to let the microscope do the focusing and keep their glasses off. You'll have to refocus considerably after someone else uses the scope. I work with someone who uses reading glasses WITH contacts, and it takes a while to get the microscope readjusted after he uses it.

I think astigmatism is one thing laser surgery can't correct. One of my friends was recently talking about that...something about her husband was all ready to do the lasik thing and then was told he couldn't do it because of the astigmatism. Probably because it's not really a problem of the lens, but of the shape of the eye.

 

[Evo]

too funny moonbear, are posts are so similar and at the same time.

 

[Moonbear]

Great minds think alike, I guess. LOL!

I had the opposite problem when first using bi-ocular scopes, I had gotten so good at using just one eye that I was almost not using one eye at all and missing out on some of the benefits of using both eyes. I found I had to close my dominant eye, let my weaker eye get accustomed to focusing, then open my dominant eye and start working. I think that's the reason they tell you to try to keep both eyes open while using a monocular scope, so you don't create sort of a lazy eye situation, but if you're just using it for a class and not all the time, it's not really that big of a deal, unless you get a headache from squinting.

 

[hitssquad]

Age-related changes in eyesight

Originally posted by Evo
Laser eye surgery is expensive, but would be helpful. I just wonder about what happens if you have the procedure when you're very young (since the eye changes as you get older) the procedure has only been around for around for a little over 20 years?

The changes are symptomatic of glycation in the lens and mitochondrial degradation in the focusing muscles. Both of these processes can be inhibited via the adoption of an anti-senescence regimen.



-Chris