Does blurry distance vision mean you are short sighted?

Behavioural Optometrist Sally Adams shares Vision Therapy case notes. 

Paul, aged 8 years, came to see me because he could not read what his teacher had written on the board, and he was having headaches. His eye examination showed he was not short sighted, even though his  vision was blurry to the extent he would have failed the driving vision test, and his 3D vision was reduced.

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Paul’s focus was not flexing normally and his eye movements for reading were not smooth. So he was not focussed on where he was looking, making reading a struggle.

Vision therapy for Paul was two fold; he started using reading glasses to reduce focusing stress, combined with vision exercises to improve the flexibility and accuracy of his focusing and eye tracking system. Within only a few weeks Paul’s distance vision returned to better than 20/20, his 3D vision returned to normal, and his headaches had reduced.  The next step was to help him maintain this improvement so he would not suffer with the same problems again. He worked through 12 sessions of vision therapy with me for 30 minutes each week, while at home he completed 10 to 15 minutes of vision activities each day. With practice and commitment Paul’s vision system is automatically working efficiently which means he sees clearly and comfortably.


Names have been changed for privacy reasons.

How eye disorders may have influenced the work of famous painters

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Visual art invites us to view the world seen through the eyes of the artist or creator. This concept is very familiar to us with modern art, there is a role for interpretation. However a few hundred
years ago, the artists of the day were typically creating more real life images of their subject matter.

There is a long history of scientists and clinicians arguing particular artists were affected by vision disorders, based on signs in their works. Included is the hypothesis that leaders of the Impressionist movement were short- sighted, for instance, and that their blurry distance vision may explain their broad, impetuous style.

The fact that Claude Monet had cataracts is well documented and seen in the changing colours of his paintings. In other cases supporting evidence of such disorders and their influence on artworks is often speculative, and hampered by a lack of clinical records to support the diagnosis. There is still fun in speculating, did El Greco suffer from astigmatism? Perhaps Australian painter Clifton Pugh had a colour vision deficit?

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What is an OCT? How does it help in Macular Degeneration and Glaucoma?

OCT stands for scanning technology Optical Coherence Tomography. Scanning lets us ‘see’ tissue behind the visible retina inside the eye. In the past 5 years OCT has become invaluable in assessing eye health, particularly helpful for Macular Degeneration (MD) and Glaucoma.

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When we see signs of MD during an eye examination, we take an OCT scan which reveals what is happening in the underlying retina. In particular we want to spot the ‘wet’ form of MD which can cause rapid, devastating vision changes. With a scan we can see if there is fluid in the macula and allows us to make referral for treatment.

The detailed measurements of the nerve fibre layer in the eye are particularly helpful when we are looking for Glaucoma. If there are signs in a regular examination, OCT gives us a way to closely monitor changes over time. These changes are seen before any vision loss.

But OCT is not a stand alone magic bullet. It’s a tool and interpreting the results needs careful consideration along with all other clinical findings. At the end of the day an OCT scanner is not an optometrist.

We are committed to using all our available diagnostic tools and we strongly believe the best place to start is regular eye examinations. The simple, vital step of spending time with you, to collect relevant history, through careful listening, guides us to the best combination of diagnostic testing.

Ortho-K lenses deliver clear result on the touch field

Rodney College student Georgia Brierly has just returned from a touch competition in Europe, where she represented the NZ Barbarians U18 Girls Sevens team against club sides from Sweden and the Netherlands.

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Conveniently Georgia has been able to ditch her glasses thanks to her orthokeratology (Ortho-K) lenses that correct her eyesight as she sleeps. Advances in Ortho-K, mean Georgia no longer has to wear glasses or contact lenses during the day.

Ortho-K involves gently reshaping the cornea of the eye to temporarily modify or eliminate refractive error - including short sightedness or myopia.

While the process has been practised for almost 40 years, results were quite variable and unpredictable. However, in the last 10 years new technology has become available to accurately map the corneal shape and manufacture lenses that will achieve a controlled and precise correction in the eye. In addition, new developments in lens materials have been made that enable safe overnight wear to be possible.

Optometrists fitting Ortho-K soon realised that young people wearing these lenses to correct short- sightedness didn’t progress or get worse like those who wore regular glasses or soft contact lenses. Numerous studies confirmed that wearing Ortho-K lenses stopped or slowed kids from getting more short-sighted.

“Rates of short-sightedness have been increasing worldwide; in the US rates of myopia (short-sightedness) have increased from 25 per cent to 42 per cent in 30 years and by 2050 it is predicted that 50 per cent of the population will be short-sighted, doubling what the rate was in 2000,” Claire McDonald says.

“Our concerns are also the more short-sighted you become, there is more risk your eyes will develop cataracts, retinal detachments, macular degeneration and glaucoma. So Ortho-K offers both short term and long term benefits”.

Ortho-k is now a safe, viable and reversible alternative to refractive surgery. The cornea, while being mouldable, will return to its original shape if lens wear is stopped.

“You simply sleep in your lenses, then wake up and remove them, and enjoy clear vision all day.”

Georgia said she enjoys playing touch while being able to see clearly without having to think about using corrective contact lenses, and her mum, Rachel, tells us “Ortho-K has changed Georgia’s life”.