I am very lucky to have wonderful people in my life. One of them is my aunt Lisa. She is awesome - kind, loves animals, compassionate, loves to travel, can find great deals, ... you name it. Anyway, she asked me to write a post on narrow angles, so here it is!
So, there's a part of the eye called the angle. It's called an angle because that's eactly what it is. It is a space between (cue the Dave Matthews song here) the cornea and the iris that can be different sizes in different people.
Generally (but of course there are exceptions to every rule):
FARSIGHTED individuals (Hyperopic; Glasses prescription is a "plus" or "+" prescrption, cannot see well up close) generally have narrower/smaller angles than their nearsighted friends.
NEARSIGHTED individuals (Myopic; glasses prescription is a "minus" or "-" prescription, cannot see well far away) usually have more wide or open angles.
So what's the problem if you have narrow angles? In some cases, it's no big deal. However, in other cases, narrow angles can cause the pressure in the eye to build up, leading to something you probably don't want to have called glaucoma. The eye pressure builds up sometimes in narrow angles because the angle is where the fluid drains - too much fluid and not enough draining leads to increased pressure. Kind of like my garbage disposal last week (it wasn't pretty).
If you are concerned about narrow angles, go see your friendly optometrist so they can take a look at your eyes. I promise once again that we are SO NICE! We want to help you and we love questions!! So ask us, we want to help!
Your optometrist can use a microscope called a slit lamp to look at your eye magnified many times. We can see how shallow or deep your angle is. If it is very narrow or shallow and we are concerned that the fluid isn't properly draining, we may send you to a spccialist to do a cool laser treatment to allow for better drainage. Basically, the laser forms a tiny hole in the colored part of the eye so that the fluid has another way to go. If your doctor recommends this procedure, please don't worry - it's a pretty quick procedure and doesn't cause any pain.
I hope you have found this post helpful, and I hope you are trying to make each day your best! Have a wonderful week. :)
Somebody told me that I probably had narrow angles as well. But I didn't have any idea what that meant so I had to go ask an optometrist in Victoria BC and it turns out I didn't have that problem anyway.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear! And glad you asked your optometrist!
DeleteThey look great! I need new glasses but I am too lazy to go to the doctors to get a new prescription glasses online. LOL
ReplyDeleteI've just been noticing as I've been getting older my vision has been getting worse and I'm considering going to an optometrist in Saint George UT. I just don't know what to expect.
ReplyDeleteThanks for clarifying. I'll probably go and talk to my eye doctor in Fort McMurray to see if he can give me even more clarification on this subject.
ReplyDeleteI need to go to my eye doctor in Ogden because I swear I have this!
ReplyDeleteI am glad I don't have to wear glasses yet. My friend goes to a optometrist in Edmonton and found out he is nearsighted.
ReplyDeleteI need to get an eye exam in Edmonton, but I always get nervous because every optometrist is different. We'll see how it goes!
ReplyDeleteI am looking for an Edmonton optometrist, can someone recommend one?
ReplyDeleteMy daughters teacher just informed my wife that she feels our daughter may need glasses. Where can I take my daughter for Optometry Services in Edmonton?
ReplyDeleteI am looking for an optometrist in Calgary. Who do you recommend?
ReplyDeleteThanks for this article it was great! Do you know of any good Edmonton optometrists?
ReplyDeleteFastrack sunglasses | Eyeglasses Frames
You did a great job explaining what eye angles are and how they affect every person's vision. I'm wondering, do eye angles cause astigmatisms? I have one in my left eye, and I'm not sure what that means other than that my vision is worse in that eye. Would you mind telling me why I have an astigmatism and what it does to my vision, exactly?
ReplyDeleteAlexi | http://www.ashworthvision.com/about-us/
I currently don't use glasses of any kind. I have thought at times that I should have my eyes checked because sometimes my vision isn't exactly clear. I have put on a few different pairs of glasses, and the only ones that seem like an improvement are the ones with the lowest focal power. Should I get checked? http://www.rosevillecaoptometry.com/about_us/
ReplyDeleteThank you for explaining what narrow angles mean. The title really grabbed my attention and I was looking forward to learn. I don't have too many issues with my eyes so I haven't read up on this topic too much.
ReplyDeleteFred Hutchinson | http://www.crownopticians.com/en/our_optometrists.html
This is a really interesting article! I didn't know that there was space between the iris and the cornea. A also didn't know that narrow angles are the reason for Glaucoma. This definitely makes me happy that I'm nearsighted and have wider angles!
ReplyDeleteClaudia Rosenburg | http://www.optiko.ca/en/what_is_an_optometrist.html
I didn't know that narrow angles is what causes Glaucoma. I should have known because my grandma has glaucoma. I wonder if she even knew what narrow angles were. I hadn't known what it was until now.
ReplyDeleteAlena | http://www.farsonmurray.com
My brother also needs narrow angles. I don't really know what that means and neither does he. I suppose that means he's farsighted.
ReplyDeleteDeanna R. Jones | http://www.drmayers.com/?page_id=19
I had a friend growing up who was farsighted. She would sometimes "forget" to put her glasses on and her dad would always say something to the effect of, "mind the narrows," meaning she needed to take care of those narrow angles and put on her glasses before she got hurt. It was always kind of funny, though I don't envy her eye problems.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.johnmountfordoptometrist.com.au
My optometrist said that to me. He said that I was farsighted and I have narrow angles. I remember thinking "what does that even mean?". Instead of asking him what it means like I should have, I decided to search the web. Thank you for answering my question. http://www.eyesofrockford.com
ReplyDeleteI've always found the backwards explanation of vision weird. It is along the lines of Iceland and Greenland to me. Why is it backwards from what it sound like it should be? Though I had never heard the narrowing term before, very cool.
ReplyDeleteMegan Jones http://www.vaeye.com
I had absolutely no idea that narrow angles were more common in people who are farsighted. I must be the exception because my optometrist told me that I have narrow angles even though I am near sighted. I guess my eyes are pretty special if I am both near sighted and have narrow angles! http://arizonaeyes.net
ReplyDeleteI just went to the optometrist and the doctor told me that I need glasses because I am farsighted. I saw the prescription paper and I saw the + marks on the prescription but I didn't know what they meant. Now I know! I need to get my prescription filled now.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.optometristkamloops.ca
It is interesting that sometimes we don't have perfect senses and everyone sees differently. It is good that we have eye doctors that try and make our vision as well as our body will allow us. Keeping the sense of sight as perfect as we can is really crucial for a lot of things.
ReplyDeleteZach | http://www.miramareye.com/
This was some great information about narrow angles in the eye. I am fascinated with everything about the eye. I have been thinking about becoming and optometrist when I am older. Being able to read and learn more about the eye is great! Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteEmily Smith | http://www.trendsettereyewear.com/About_Trendsetter_Eyewear.html
I think it's really important to be able to have open communication with your doctors. I know that I would hate to have a diagnosis, and have no idea what it even means. Being able to talk to your doctors and ask them questions about things like this will make things a lot easier. This is especially true when it comes to my eyes. I'm worried that I'll have eye problems in the future, because a lot of my relatives have had their eyesight deteriorate as they age. I really don't want that to happen to me.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bonniedooneyecare.ca/services.html
I think it's really important to be able to have open communication with your doctors. I know that I would hate to have a diagnosis, and have no idea what it even means. Being able to talk to your doctors and ask them questions about things like this will make things a lot easier. This is especially true when it comes to my eyes. I'm worried that I'll have eye problems in the future, because a lot of my relatives have had their eyesight deteriorate as they age. I really don't want that to happen to me.
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