How can I check my eyesight at home on my own? How often should this be done? You will find answers to these and other questions in the article. The organs of vision can be fully trusted only when visiting an ophthalmologist. But some data on the signs of eye diseases and visual acuity can be obtained at home.
For this, various testing methods have been created that can be used without leaving your computer. If the results of the eye examination are poor, you should immediately go to an ophthalmologist for an examination. How to check your eyesight at home, find out below.
Visual acuity
Visual acuity is a relative value, which is measured in diopters or fractions of a unit. Such vision is taken as a unit or norm when the eye distinguishes comfortably two points that are 1/60 of a degree distant from each other (one minute of arc).
If vision is equal to one, from a distance of 5 m, the eye candistinguish points that are 1.45 mm apart from each other.
Do you need to have your vision tested?
Few people know how to check their eyesight at home. Do you need to do this? This procedure must be carried out systematically, but it will be especially needed in such cases:
- if it seems to you that the picture is a little distorted, or you have ceased to recognize your friends;
- if objects change their color or unusual circles appear before the eyes;
- when headaches appear due to working on a PC, reading or watching TV for a long time;
- if, while reading, you bring the text closer to your eyes, or, on the contrary, move it further away.
Types of visual impairment
So how do you check your eyesight at home? First, let's figure out what needs to be tested, what points you need to focus on. Indeed, even in a he althy person, various types of visual impairment can imperceptibly appear. Typically, these include:
- Loss of visual fields. In this case, you cannot see part of the image.
- Visual acuity disorder. Farsightedness or nearsightedness may appear here.
- Violation of the clarity of the picture. Thus, astigmatism often manifests itself. But it can also be the initial stage of such a serious illness as glaucoma.
How often should I test?
We continue to find out further how to check vision at home. This should be done independently only when painful suspicions appear. This will help you get rid ofuseless experiences.
Children and teenagers are best to visit an ophthalmologist every six months, and he althy adults - once every two years. This procedure after the age of 45 must be done annually.
Requirements for home check
Many people are wondering how to check their eyesight at home. Basically, you need to adhere to these requirements:
- Closed eyes cannot be closed, as the result will be incorrect.
- Paper for printing figures and tables should be matte.
- The room should be well lit, but the light should not interfere with testing.
- It is better to print all the tables, since the color and brightness of the picture can change on the computer.
Visual acuity testing
You do not know how to check visual acuity at home? Let's continue to look into this issue. Surely, you have already studied all the above rules. You must understand that at home you can only test the indicator of visual acuity, which is far from the only characteristic of the eye.
Visual acuity refers to the indicator of vigilance of the eye. The norm is the value of visual acuity of 1.0 (100%). Some have visual acuity and more than normal, for example, 1.5 or 1.1. But very often people have visual acuity below the norm - 0.4 or 0.8, for example.
Here, in fact, you can identify the distance from which a person can clearly see the subject. So, a person with visual acuity of 0.4 can license platemachines read from 16 m, and a person with visual acuity of 1.0 - from 40 m.
You can set visual acuity using special tables with optotypes. But the most popular is the Golovin-Sivtsev table. It is she who can be found in all the offices of ophthalmologists. Such a table can be printed and used at home.
Important moment
Checking your vision at home on a computer is as easy as shelling pears. One of the important points of testing is the distance between the test table and the organs of vision. If you are testing on a monitor screen, the distance must be determined using special programs.
To do this, you need to specify at what range the verification will be carried out and the necessary parameters of the table. The program will display the required size on the screen. If you need to print eye tests, do it on two or three A4 sheets.
Verification methods
Today on the Internet you can find various computer techniques with which you can check your eyesight on your phone or computer yourself. Many sites also offer free online checks of the same type.
Computer based tests are often very effective and produce results with exceptional accuracy. But if you are having your eyes checked for the first time, it is better to use regular tests.
In addition, an online vision test for babies is very difficult, and for babies it is almost impossible. Here, simple tests with pictures and simple actions will help you.
Tables Orlova and Sivtsev
Everyonea person should know how to check his eyesight at home. The simplest and most outstanding method of testing are Sivtsev's standard tables. They are available in two versions:
- With letters.
- With C-rings rotated at various angles.
The second option is used to test vision in children under 7 years old who still cannot read. When applying this method, it is important to take into account the ratio of the distance of the table to the eyes and the parameters of the symbols. This ratio can be calculated using online programs.
Here you can either print the table or carry out verification directly on the computer monitor. In the latter case, glare should not be allowed. If the baby is bored looking at such drawings, you can use the Orlova table, as it depicts various wonderful pictures.
You also need the room to be well lit. But during the day, the curtains should be closed to avoid crossing light sources. Start testing from the tenth line in the table.
If you do not know how to check your child's vision at home, be sure to study this issue. We continue further. So, cover one eye with your hand. If you see the letters in the tenth line clearly, then your vision is normal. If you cannot see them, go to the lines above until you can see the characters clearly. Follow the same procedure for the next eye.
He althy people can clearly see the 10th line, if there areminor violations, then lines 8 and 9 are visible. If a person has difficulty distinguishing higher lines, this is a sign of vision problems.
Duochrome test
This test can detect the presence of farsightedness or nearsightedness. If the verification according to the Sivtsev table showed a negative result, try to go through it as well. The duochrome test checklist has 12 rows. Only it does not depict letters, but open circles. One half of the table is colored red and the other half is green.
To pass the test, you need to move away from the computer at some distance and cover one eye. If on the green field the circles differ better, then there are symptoms of farsightedness, on the red field - myopia. The other eye should also be checked.
Check for color perception and astigmatism
It is very easy to check your eyesight for astigmatism. To do this, it is only necessary to print a specific test in the form of a circle with divergent rays. If there is no astigmatism, all lines will look clear. In the presence of pathology, the lines are blurred.
Color perception is checked with the help of special cards, which show colored circles. Among them there are circles of the same color that make up the number. If a person distinguishes it without tension, then the color perception is normal.
Amsler grating
This test can be used to find out if there are defects in central vision. He representsa square grid with a black dot in the middle. For testing, you need to cover one eye, and look at the black circle in the middle of the grid for one minute with the other. If there is a defect in vision, the lines will begin to deform after a while.
Checking in newborns
Checking the vision of infants is a very complex process. However, if you think that the baby has vision problems, do the following: make a couple of small balls from black bread. Then place them on a white sheet so that nothing is left in the field of view except for them. Put the baby near the balloons.
Babies, starting from 6 months, are interested in everything. If your child does not pay attention to the balls, show him to an ophthalmologist. After all, there is a possibility that he has poor eyesight. It is unlikely that a child under 6 months old will be able to test their vision in any way.
In our age of television, flashy advertising, computers, busy car traffic and everything else that negatively affects the eyes and he alth in general, checking our basic sense organ should not be neglected. And stay he althy!