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Cylinder is not a problem - cylinder is the solution | Israel today

2022-05-15T11:50:02.407Z


During your visit to the optometrist, did the words "cylinder" or "asthmatism" come up? No need to panic, it's just the structure of your eyeball and you are in good company, along with about a third of the population • What is astigmatism? What is important to know about her? And what is the difference between a tennis ball and a football? • All the answers are in front of you


What is a cylinder?

One of the most common questions asked by optometrists is: "What is a cylinder?" / If you wear glasses, chances are good that you have already encountered the concepts of cylinder or asthmatism, and it is time to clarify that this is not a disease, but a description of our eyeball shape. .

The ball is round ... but not for everyone

Let's start with a simple example: Imagine you are holding a classic round yellow tennis ball, the kind that Serena Williams and Raphael Real like to bounce on the tennis courts.

The curvature of the ball is equal, and each point where you place your finger will be equal to another point on the ball (hint: the ball has no cylinder ...).

Now imagine that you replace Raphael Real with Tom Brady and the tennis ball with an American football ... Is it also round, symmetrical and convex in the same way?

Of course not, its shape is more elliptical, and in fact it has two different curves from each other (hint: it has a cylinder ...).

Balls, curves and numbers

And now we'll roll from the sports fields back to the optics field.

These two balls well describe different states of our eyeball structure: the classic structure, shaped like a round tennis ball, while in people with asthmatism, the eyeball is convex, similar to a football and corneal in an elliptical and slightly protruding shape.

As a result, the light rays passing through the cornea do not focus on one point on the retina, but on two.

For those of us whose eyeball shape is round, the prescription of glasses includes only the number, without a cylinder.

Whereas people with asthmatism have a prescription that includes the number itself, and another number that is the cylinder.

A cylinder is the nickname for a component in a lens, which corrects the problem of astigmatism.

How do we identify that we have a cylinder?

We will usually feel an elliptical blur, a kind of "smear" or flicker in a certain direction, and an inability to focus the vision.

The blurring is also felt in distance vision and reading. 

Early diagnosis and adjustment to the prescription

It is very important to be attentive to the complaints of young children about vision problems, to diagnose their astigmatism in time and of course to ensure an accurate prescription, so that their visual system develops properly.

And what about adults?

If you have been diagnosed with a cylinder for the first time, or you have a change in the cylinder's prescription, it is very possible that when you receive the new glasses, you will feel a slight dizziness, that the floor is slightly crooked or a kind of "cruising" feeling.


No need to panic, it's natural and normal.

There is a period of adjustment to the new prescription with the cylinder, which can take between several hours and several days.

Compared to changing the number of glasses, it is more difficult to adapt to the change in the cylinder, so take a deep breath, at the end you will get used to it.

You are in good company

Did you think you were special?

We are sorry to disappoint you.

Studies in the U.S. population have shown that 33% of the population has some degree of astigmatism, whereas of all spectacle components, 77% also have a cylinder component in the spectacle registry.

Keep an eye on the cylinder

It is customary to divide the cylinder into three main grades:

Low cylinder

- up to 1 diopter (synonym for number)

Medium cylinder

- 1 to 3 diopters

High cylinder

- over 3 diopters.   

A high cylinder can indicate the development of a corneal disease called keratoconus.

In this disease the cornea of ​​the eyeball is overly arched and such a condition is not normal.

In this case, you will receive a referral from your optometrist to your ophthalmologist for further follow-up.

It's important to get tested!

Is it possible to do laser surgery if there is a cylinder? 

Definitely.

A cylinder is just another number that exists because the structure of the cornea is not round, so, as a normal number laser surgery can correct, the cylinder can also be corrected.

There are other metrics for surgery that only surgeons know how to answer you with complete certainty, so it is advisable to consult them.

Is the cylinder rising? 

In adolescence, as part of the increase in the number itself, the cylinder may also rise.

When we reach the age where the number stabilizes, there is a good chance that the cylinder will also stabilize.

Note that in old age there may be an increase in the cylinder, following the development of a cataract, which causes a change in the shape of the intraocular lens, and therefore a new cylinder is formed.

In this case, too, you will receive a referral to an ophthalmologist from your optometrist, and it is very important to be examined.

The author of the article is Shira Toito Medina, an optometrist, Super-Pharm Optic Eilat

Source: israelhayom

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