Every industry, sector, institution, company and club has its own jargon. And we’re no different. We make the mistake of assuming you know what we mean when we say the following. As our little way of saying sorry, we’ve also provided simple definitions with some links and the usual cheeky colour commentary.
20/20: This is the standard for eyesight. It’s our yardstick, or what some people would call ‘the bar’. The numbers refer to what a normal person sees at 20 feet. So, if you can see the letters on the chart from 20 feet that someone with average eyesight sees, then you have 20/20 vision.
Astigmatism: An unusual shape or bump on the eye rather than the normal curving. It causes a ‘refractive error’ meaning light hits it wrong because it’s bent. That creates sight problems. It often can’t be corrected by contact lenses, just glasses, because of that misshape.
Bifocal: A lens with two segments. One is for nearsightedness, the other for farsightedness (see below for their definitions). We can help determine whether you need bifocals.
Cataract: A cloudy effect in the eye, which can cause blurred vision, halo effects and other problems. Cataracts are usually caused by unprotected exposure to sunlight.
Colour blindness: Difficulty or complete inability determining certain colours. This condition is less more common in women than men. (Is this why so few men can coordinate their wardrobe?)
Cone: A light-sensitive cell that helps make seeing colour possible. Our other definition of cone: a crunchy receptacle for ice cream.
Double vision: The state of seeing two images of one object. It’s also called diplopia which we bet you can’t say three times fast.
Farsightedness: The condition of not clearly seeing things up close. Think of the word: you are ‘sighted’ for things that are far. It’s also called hyperopia. Learn more.
LASEK / LASIK: Both of these words are laser surgical procedures and are fairly similar. They correct vision problems without the need of glasses or contact lenses. They’re so similar we’ll just count this as one definition.
Legal blindness: When you think about it too much, this phrase does sound kind of weird. After all, is there an illegal ability to smell? In the USA, legal blindness means an impairment so severe, vision is 20/200 or worse. So, you’d see at 20 feet what average vision sees at 200. Or it could mean peripheral (sideways) vision that’s so narrow, it doesn’t go beyond 20 degrees at its widest.
Myopia (aka nearsightedness): The condition of not seeing things in the distance clearly. Also called nearsightedness, you’re literally ‘sighted’ for things that are near.
Nearsightedness (aka myopia): Look up. We won’t count this as one of the 15 definitions.
Pinkeye: If you already determined that it’s an unhealthy condition wherein your eye goes pink, bingo! Also called conjunctivitis, it usually clears itself up. Depending on the cause (allergies, virus, bacterial infection) that could be as soon as two days or long as three weeks. However, if you’re at all concerned come see us.
Retinitis: The retina is a membrane that contains photoreceptors at the back of your eye. Retinitis is the unhealthy inflammation of the retina. It can cause anything from blurriness to loss of eyesight.
Stye: A painful red inflammation on the edge of the eyelid, from an infected gland.
Trifocal: A lens divided into three segments (see above re bifocal). One’s for seeing up close, like when you’re reading. The next is middle distance. The third is far distance. We can help determine whether you need bifocals.
