Who Should NOT Consider Lasik

Who Should NOT Consider Lasik

With the new leaps and bounds that are being made in the field of corrective eye surgery there are fewer and fewer people who do not qualify or meet the requirements to get lasik surgery. Today just about anyone can get corrective lasik eye surgery. However there are a few exceptions to this rather generalized statement. These are the minimum requirements that guide most doctors in their decision to qualify or disqualify a patient for lasik:

Your refractive error should be stable

You should be at least 18 years of age or older

No other ophthalmologic disorders

No other general disorders

Your refractive error is the degree to which light reaches the back of the eye. This is the cause of astigmatism, myopia and hyperopia. Myopia is caused by rays of light that get focused in front of the retina as opposed to focusing on the retina itself. This causes nearsightedness. Some of the symptoms of nearsightedness are blurred distant vision, eye strain, and squinting. You may also have a hard time seeing at night. This problem is easily fixed with glasses, and with today's new technology lasik is now an option for many patients.

Hyperopia is the exact opposite. Hyperopia is another word for farsightedness. This happens when light rays focus behind the retina instead of on the retina. This results in blurred near vision. Some patients that have severe farsightedness and have to step back from what they are reading. They use things such as magnifying glasses, and reading glasses to read and to see things right in front their face. Glasses and contact lenses can help alleviate some of these problems, and now so can lasik.

Astigmatism is the effect of the eye being shaped like a football instead of round like a baseball. Light rays are focused on two points on the retina instead of just one. This deformity can result in double vision, blurred vision, and shadows on letters when reading. This abnormality has been a problem for decades. Up until recently it has prevented some people from getting contact lenses. Only people with slight astigmatism were able to comfortably wear contact lenses. Breakthroughs in contact lenses have not accommodated patients with extreme astigmatism. But even now not all patients can be helped. But with this new breakthrough in lasik, patients can have their eyes repaired to normal, or at least be repaired enough to comfortably wear contact lenses. Either way, their vision is enhanced and many are happy just to get rid of the glasses and finally be able to wear contacts, or possibly nothing at all.

You should be at least 18 years of age or older before considering lasik. This is because your body is still developing and changing, including your eyes. Your eyes are still growing and changing their shape until you reach full maturity. Most people's eyes stop changing about the age of 16, yet some need that extra two years to finish. It is best that you wait till you are at least 18 to avoid any negative side effects or to avoid needing a second surgery done later.

Ophthalmologic disorders are disorders in the eye. Examples of these optical disorders are cataracts and glaucoma. These problems need to be take care of in advance if at all possible to avoid complications with surgery and recovery. People who have any optical disorders should not consider lasik as it may be ineffective or progress the damage of the eye ever further. Very few people with optical disorders actually improve their eye sight with lasik.

Other disorders such has arthritis should not be present either as it will slow the healing process. Many physiological disorders have been know to cause undo stress on the eyes, and it is for this reason that lasik is not recommended for people with general disorders.

Please remember that these rules are guidelines and not all doctors follow them to the letter of the law. Like most rules there are exceptions and only a competent doctor can decide if you should risk surgery under your conditions. Find a doctor you trust and let him/her examine your eyes and listen to their council to decide if lasik is best for you. Lasik is a risk even for the perfect candidate. Don't risk more than you have to. Discuss it with your doctor and if he/she thinks you are a good candidate for surgery, then proceed with it, but only then.