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Types of vision problems that may require corrective lenses:
1:  myopia (short-sightedness): Light rays entering the eye focus in front of the receptor cells in the retina. Myopes may see clearly at near but are blurred at distance.
2: hyperopia (long-sightedness): Light rays entering the eye focus behind the retina. The eye has to exert extra focusing power to see clearly at distance and even more so at near. If the hyperopia is large then the eye may not be able to focus the image clearly at all. Most young children have mild degrees of hyperopia.
3: astigmatism: Light rays entering the eye focus at different places. It is caused by an irregular surface of the eye. Instead of being perfectly round, the surface of the eye is shaped like a rugby ball lying on its side and is more curved in one plane than the other.
4: Refractive esotropia: There is a link between the focusing muscle in the eye and the muscles which draw the eyes together as we look at a near object. Some children with hyperopia are required to exert so much focusing power in their eyes that their eyes turn in. This refractive esotropia may be fully correctable with glasses.
5. Amblyopia (Lazy eye): Amblyopia (say this: "am-blee-oh-pee-ah") is an eye problem that causes poor vision in children. The problem starts when the pathways of vision in the brain don't grow strong enough. Pathways are a little like roads--they carry vision messages from eye to brain. Amblyopia is also called "lazy eye." All babies are born with poor eyesight. As babies grow, their eyesight gets better. Good eyesight needs a clear, focused image that is the same in both eyes. If the image isn't clear in one eye, or if the image isn't the same in both eyes, the vision pathways won't develop right. In fact, the pathways may actually get worse. Anything that happens to blur the vision or cause the eyes to be crossed during childhood may cause amblyopia. For example, the image might be different in both eyes if the child has strabismus. Strabismus (also called "crossed eyes") causes the eyes to not focus the same. Children who need glasses to see better, or have cataracts, a droopy eyelid, or crossed or wandering eyes may also get amblyopia. About 5% of children have amblyopia. corrective lenses do not "correct" amblyopia, but may be used as part of a program to treat the problem.
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