Refractive error
Refractive error is when the shape of the eye prevents it from focusing light correctly, resulting in a blurred image. The disorder can be simply diagnosed, measured and corrected with spectacles, yet it’s estimated that 153 million people are in need of glasses to correct their visual impairment.
It’s estimated that five million people have such a severe uncorrected refractive error, they remain functionally blind.
The three main types of refractive error
- Myopia or (‘nearsightedness’) is: difficulty in seeing distant objects clearly
- Hyperopia or (‘farsightedness’ is): difficulty in seeing close objects clearly
- Astigmatism is: distorted vision resulting from an irregularly curved cornea, the clear covering of the eyeball
Our work with refractive error
Sightsavers Our partners trains eye care workers to identify people with poor vision. Primary eye care workers can identify people in their community with vision problems, who will then need to be seen by an optometrist or refractionist to determine what prescription they need for glasses.
In developing countries many people are unable to read, so eye care workers can’t use the eye charts that are used in Western health systems as people would not recognise the letters. Instead we use in the west if people don’t understand the letters. Instead a tumbling e chart is used, which depicts an ‘E’ facing in different directions and the person reading the chart must point in the direction of the e.
If somebody is in one of our projects is diagnosed with refractive error and given a prescription for glasses, we make sure these are also provided. We fund local production of glasses which are then used as an income generating scheme for our local partners, providing high quality glasses at a small cost.
We don’t accept donations of glasses, because it can be so difficult to match the prescription of a second hand pair of spectacles to someone who needs them. It’s often something we get asked about – you can find out more by reading our policy on accepting recycled spectacles here.
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