Your cornea is the clear front part of your eye. It is like a window that controls and focuses the light coming into the eye. If your cornea has an irregular shape, the light does not focus properly. Everything looks blurry. This is a refractive error.
Four common refractive errors are:
- Myopia, or nearsightedness – clear vision close up but blurry in the distance
- Hyperopia, or farsightedness – clear vision in the distance but blurry close up
- Presbyopia – inability to focus close up as a result of aging
- Astigmatism – focus problems caused by the cornea
Glasses or contact lenses can usually correct refractive errors. Laser eye surgery may also be a possibility.