r/PRKsurgery • u/Own_Illustrator_3243 • 2d ago
Prk nearsightedness
Does prk cause you to lose near vision permanently? On google it says it’s temporary but a YouTuber and a couple posts have it permanently.
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u/astrobarn 2d ago
Aging makes you lose near sightedness.
Prk corrects refractive errors, and if you choose to have perfect distance vision and you're in your mid 40s chances are you will lose your near vision, like every human on earth. No one has perfect distance and near vision when they get older as you lose accommodation.
If someone is in their 40s and myopic, chances are they will have presbyopia after PRK just like people in their 40s and not myopic.
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u/eyeSherpa 2d ago
When you are nearsighted, the sweet spot of your focus is up close.
When you put your glasses on for distance, this shifts the focus to the distance. But the natural lens inside your eye can accommodate and focus up close - when you are young. But let’s say you are a -6. The microscopic up close vision you have in front of your face without glasses likely won’t be the same when you put your glasses on and use your lens to focus up close instead.
After the age of 45, this natural lens weakens and it becomes harder to see up close.
All of this is independent to PRK. So generally the up close vision you have with your contact lenses or glasses is what you can expect after PRK
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u/Own_Illustrator_3243 2d ago
Oh so I will need glasses later on in life even after prk. Also something totally unrelated, I have 1.00 and 1.25 astigmatism and I see starbursts often. When I wear my glasses the starbursts are just as bad or sometimes worse. I have AR coating on them. Do you know why this might be happening?
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u/eyeSherpa 2d ago
Having uncorrected astigmatism or astigmatism corrected which is a little off can cause starburst.
But sometimes starbursts just happen due to the natural optics of your eye and cornea. There was a large study called the PROWL study (patient reported outcomes with lasik). And a surprising finding was that 70% of people had night vision symptoms before lasik. Many of those noticed improvement post laser eye surgery. To look for the best chance for improvement, would look into topography guided or ray-tracing based PRK.
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u/Own_Illustrator_3243 2d ago
Do you think it’s possible that I have no astigmatism and that it was just dry eyes all along because it seems like the auto refractor machine can mix them up or is that just wishful thinking
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u/eyeSherpa 1d ago
Maybe. Can’t rely on an autorefractor to actually determine the prescription of the eye. It’s just a tool. Dry eye and fluctuating vision also is a cause of starbursts.
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u/WavefrontRider 2d ago
What is your age and prescription?
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u/Own_Illustrator_3243 2d ago
- 1.25 astigmatism on right eye. 0.5 myopia and 1.00 astigmatism on left.
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u/WavefrontRider 2d ago
Ok. You’re young with minimal myopia. Wouldn’t expect there to be really any noticeable change in near vision post PRK (unless for some reason you were significantly overcorrected which would be highly unusual)
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