“Healthspeak,” like any industry-specific lingo, can be a little confusing. For instance, we ordinary folks talk about being nearsighted, not myopic. Here are a few of the most Common Terms And Conditions of the eye.

By far, the most common terms you will hear in your doctor’s office describe routine visual acuity problems.

• Ametropia simply means that the patient needs some type of correction with a prescription lens.
• Emmetropia simply means that the patient’s eye is completely normal and does not require corrective lenses.
• Myopia is widely described as nearsighted by the public. The patient can clearly see images that are relatively close by, but objects that are at a distance are blurry.
• Hyperopia is widely described as farsighted by the public. The patient can clearly see objects at a distance, but objects that are close by are blurry.
• Presbyopia is another problem with near-vision. The patient’s eye is unable to accommodate for very close work or reading.
• Astigmatism is a condition resulting when the patient’s eye is shaped differently – either the eyeball is shaped like a football or the surface over the cornea has two curves rather than one over the entire surface. Either condition causes the patient to see two different images.
• Amblyopia is sometimes called “lazy eye.” It develops in early childhood when both retinas are not receiving an identical focused image, and vision does not develop properly. The developing brain accommodates for the condition by “turning off” the weaker eye. The brain’s ignoring images from the weak eye becomes an automatic response. Early detection and treatment is extremely important. There are amblyopic conditions caused by poisoning with quinine, lead, wood alcohol, nicotine, arsenic, or certain other poisons and by nutritional deficiencies or pernicious anemia which will require a comprehensive treatment plan involving both eye health and medical health professionals.