We live in a world filled with vivid colors, clear looking objects, and millions of other things that please the eye. The beauty that nature has endowed on our environment is mind blowing. Many of us believe that we are seeing at an optimum level; we think that the colors cannot get any brighter, the water cannot get any clearer, the coal cannot get any darker, the prints cannot get any more discernible. We also feel that others see things the way we do except when we suffer from visual conditions such as high refractive error or sight threatening conditions that have significantly noticeable effects our vision. Even in the midst of sight threatening conditions, many people still fail to recognize their inability to see at an optimum level which sometimes may be attributed to certain adaptive mechanisms initiated by the nervous system to compensate for visual loss in parts of the visual field or in some kinds of refractive errors.


Colors as we see them are reflections of light rays from the surfaces of the objects we look at. Reflection means 'bouncing' of light from a surface. The light that 'bounces' off these objects can originate from various sources. Sunlight is our most popular light source. Other sources of light are our bulbs, candles, etcetera. Light from the sun is white and is made up of about 7 component colors; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. When this light hits any body(lets say a yellow car), the body will absorb some of the colors and reflect one(Yellow in the case of a yellow car). The reflected color is the color we perceive the object to be. Some bodies can reflect more than one color at once. In this case, the reflected colors combine to form a different color. Black objects absorb all the colors from white light while white objects reflect all the colors.

People with visual impairments are usually unable to see things properly. Prints may appear small and vivid colors may appear blurred to such people. They may even have double vision or see streaks passing across their eye sometimes. Many people with impaired vision may not even notice any symptom. For this reason, it is important that we visit our optometrist at least twice in a year and more frequently if there is someone with an eye condition in our families. After series of tests, the optometrist may give us a clean bill of eye health or discover that we have some issues in our eye. In the latter case, if the condition is a refractive error, appropriate glasses may be prescribed. People putting on corrective lenses for the first time after living for several years with (a) defective eye(s) usually find the world around them fascinating. They suddenly realize that they have not been seeing their environment in full resolution! Cataracts can make our lens to become cloudy and opaque. This can also affect the way we see. Some eye conditions that affects the retina and optic nerve can cause loss in parts of our visual fields and in some cases, may gradually result to blindness.

Some eye conditions cannot be cured. They can only be managed and prevented from degenerating further. The earlier these conditions are diagnosed and treatment commences, the better. Allowing eye conditions to degenerate may lead to a significant loss in our ability to see at an optimum or near optimum level. If such is the case, then we may not be able to see our environment at an optimum level or in full resolution. Visit your optometrist today and determine if you are really seeing at an optimum level. I hope you find this article interesting?

source http://thehealthyeye..com.ng/2015/12/are-we-seeing-at-optimum-level.html