Protect Your Vision
Comprehensive Eye Exam
Eye health examinations are an extremely important aspect of your regular health care routine. Regardless of age, it is essential you get your eyes examined on a regular basis to ensure the long-term health of your vision. The Virginia Eye Clinic is committed to serving the Lynchburg, Forest and surrounding communities in effort to support and empower individuals to protect their vision and experience life to the fullest.
During your exam, our doctors will most likely dilate your pupils in order to get a good look at the retina, which is at the back of the eye. This is a valuable precaution to screen against tears or bleeding in the back of the eye. Nearsightedness, farsightedness, glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes, macular degeneration, astigmatism and dry eye are other common problems you will be screened for during your comprehensive eye exam. If needed, treatment options will be provided at the end of the exam to ensure you are provided with optimal information and support to address any eye health related issues.
The Virginia Eye Clinic provides a full service optical and is simply the area’s best provider of fashionable corrective eye wear. We provide corrective lenses to meet each and every need for our patients. When it comes to glasses or contact lenses, our very talented and caring Opticians are ready to add value by providing solutions tailored to your specific needs. Our Opticians are non-commissioned professionals who work directly with our doctors to provide you with the best possible options for vision correction products.
Common Eye Conditions
Refractive Errors
Simply put, a refractive error means that the shape of your eye does not bend light correctly, resulting in a blurred image. Light has to be refracted or bent by the cornea and the lens to the retina in order for you to see. When a person has clear vision, light passes through the cornea (the transparent part of the eye) and then through the lens inside. The eye’s lens focuses the light directly on the retina inside the eye to create the image, which is then sent to the brain. A refractive error is the eye’s inability to focus light correctly, which causes impaired visual acuity. Nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism are refractive errors. Each of these eye conditions is responsible for blurry vision at different focal depths. These refractive errors are extremely intricate and require precise diagnosis and effective treatment. The good news is that these errors can usually be corrected through corrective eye care treatment. Our doctors of optometry typically use contact lenses, eyeglasses, or refractive surgery to correct these refractive errors. Their personal, professional style of understanding patient needs, detecting visual impairments and treating conditions are second to none. Please reach out and contact us to find out more about protecting your vision.
Myopia (Nearsightedness: When Distant Objects are Blurry)
Nearsightedness is the most common vision problem in the United States and is often discovered in childhood. Myopia is generally inherent and occurs when the eyeball is too long or is oval shaped instead of spherical, causing the lens to focus its image on a point in front of the retina rather than on it, resulting in blurry long-distance vision. Myopia often progresses throughout ones teenage years, when the body is growing rapidly. People with high degrees of myopia have a higher risk of detached retina which can be repaired with surgery. This vision condition can typically be corrected through eyeglasses or contacts. However, surgical procedures such as LASIK and Implantable Contact Lenses (ICLs) are also possible treatment options.
Hyperopia (Farsightedness: Close Objects are Blurry)
Farsightedness is generally inherent and common in children. However, as the hyperopic children age, the condition tends to lessen. Farsightedness occurs when one can see well at a distance, but have poor close range vision. This condition occurs when the eyeball is shorter than normal or when the cornea is not curved as much as it should be. This causes the lens to focus its image on a point behind the retina rather than on it, resulting in blurry close vision. The most common treatment options for farsightedness include corrective lenses in eyeglasses or contacts and laser surgery such as LASIK and PRK.
Astigmatism (Blurred Vision at All Distances)
Astigmatism usually occurs when the front surface of the eye, the cornea, has an irregular curvature. Normally the cornea is smooth and equally curved in all directions and light entering the cornea is focused equally on all planes, or in all directions. In astigmatism, the front surface of the cornea is curved more in one direction than in the other. This abnormality may result in vision that is much like looking into a distorted, wavy mirror. Usually, astigmatism causes blurred vision at all distances. Astigmatism is typically treated with corrective lenses, including eyeglasses and contact lenses, or LASIK eye surgery. Most people have some degree of astigmatism, and treatment may not be necessary if the condition is mild.
Presbyopia (Aging of the Lens in the Eye)
Around and after age 40, the lens of the eye becomes more rigid and does not flex as easily. The result is that it is more difficult to read at close range. When presbyopia is present the eye’s lens gradually loses flexibility, resulting in the loss of focusing ability. Like wrinkles and grey hair, presbyopia is a natural part of the aging process and is nearly unavoidable. Symptoms of presbyopia before age 40 may indicate other health conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular problems, anemia, infections, cataracts, or sclerosis of the lens. Our doctors typically use corrective lenses, such as bifocal contact lenses or glasses, to treat presbyopia. Refractive surgery is not an effective treatment for presbyopia.
