6/9 Eyesight Explained: We are able to see this colorful world with our eyes. If there is even the slightest problem in the eyes, it has a direct impact on vision. Nowadays, people’s eyesight has started becoming weak at an early age and a large number of children are also in need of wearing glasses. Often people think that in case of weak eyesight, everything will be fine by wearing glasses, but in many cases this is not the case. If a person’s eye vision remains 6/9 or less, then the eyes do not become normal even after wearing glasses and contact lenses. Today we will know from the doctor what is 6/9 vision, what is its cause and what is its treatment.
Dr. Tushar Grover, Medical Director of Vision Eye Center, New Delhi told News18. Snellen Chart is used all over the world to measure eye vision. Numbers like 6/6, 6/9, 6/12 are shown in it. Here the first number 6 represents the distance from which the person is reading the chart. This is a distance of 6 meters. The second number tells from what distance a person with normal vision can read the same line. 6/6 is considered normal or perfect vision. If someone’s vision is 6/9, it means that what he sees from 6 meters, a person with normal vision can see clearly from 9 meters. This is considered to be mild weak vision and a large number of people are struggling with it.
What is the reason for 6/9 vision?
Doctor Grover said that 6/9 vision is often caused by refractive errors like myopia, hypermetropia or astigmatism. In some cases, it can also be a sign of amblyopia i.e. lazy eye. If vision remains 6/9 even after wearing glasses or contact lenses and the structure of the eye is normal, then it is considered amblyopia. In such a situation, there is a possibility of proper coordination between the eyes and the brain. People with 6/9 vision experience symptoms like blurred vision in one eye, inability to judge depth correctly, closing one eye while reading, eye strain or headache. Many times children do not complain because their brain is better than their eyes.
What is the connection of amblyopia with vision?
According to experts, amblyopia is a neuro-developmental problem, in which during childhood, the brain starts ignoring the blurred images coming from the weak eye and becomes more dependent on the strong eye. As a result, the weak eye becomes lazy eye, whereas its structure may be normal. Its main causes include squint, big difference in the number of eyes, high refractive error in both the eyes or obstruction like cataract in childhood. It is a major cause of low vision in children and affects about 2 to 3% of children.
Is it possible to convert 6/9 vision to 6/6?
Doctor Tushar Grover says that as far as improving 6/9 vision to 6/6 is concerned, it depends on age and reason. If treatment is started in children below 7-8 years of age, the chances of improvement are very good and often the numerical partial can reach 6/6. Improvement is less in older children and teenagers. The chances of improvement in adults are much less. However, with the help of many new technologies it can be improved to some extent.
What is the treatment for 6/9 vision?
According to experts, the first step in the treatment of 6/9 vision is to wear the right number of spectacles. In many cases, 30 to 50% improvement is achieved with glasses alone. Apart from this, patching therapy i.e. applying a bandage on the stronger eye for a few hours every day, atropine drops, blurring lenses and new dichoptic or computer based vision therapy are used. Early detection and timely treatment can give good results in 80 to 90% of children. If vision is found to be 6/9 or less, an eye specialist should be consulted immediately, so that the problem can be corrected at an early stage.
