Common Eyesight Problems For College Students and Solutions.

Eye problems are fairly common among college students. These young people spend a lot of time reading, writing papers, and staring at their smartphones or computer screen. Sometimes, the issue of eye health might have been avoided during youth. Parents might have elected to get their child a pair of glasses once, but didn’t follow through with regular eye exams each year. College may be the perfect time for a student to start paying more attention to their vision health and consider treatments, such as LASIK, that may be beneficial to them for the rest of their life.

What are Some of the Eyesight Problems that College Students have?

In terms of eyesight problems, college students generally live with the three different types mentioned below:

• Nearsightedness: This causes people to have a hard time seeing objects that are far away. For a college student, the dry erase board might be hard to see from where they are sitting in the room.
• Farsightedness: Sufferers of this condition tend to have a hard time seeing objects that are close. Students might have difficulty while working on a paper or reading a textbook. For those with a high reading demand, hyperopia causes a special set of problems.
• Astigmatism: This is a curvature of the cornea that can cause blurred vision of both near and far objects and create eye strain and headaches. Students focusing on small details will often experience headaches after a while because of their astigmatism.

Is LASIK a Good Option for College Students?

Even though LASIK may seem like an expensive procedure for a college student, there are some benefits to getting it done at this age rather than later in life:

• Students can utilize downtime, such as fall, winter, spring, or summer breaks to have LASIK.
• LASIK can make it easier to focus on studies in college. Instead of frustration with an eye-related headache, students can experience better focus on their work during midterm exams and finals.
• While many people wear glasses and contact lenses, LASIK is a lifelong, mostly permanent fix. Also, getting rid of contact lenses can reduce the risk of pinkeye (a common condition in dorm living).

LASIK can Easily Fit a College Budget.

Let’s say that you need to replace your contact lenses daily. You are likely going to spend between $10,000 and $15,000 over a period of ten years. If you’re attending a four-year, public college and are an in-state resident, that can easily be one year’s worth of tuition.

• First and foremost, if you suffer from low myopia, you are looking at about $495 per eye. If you are still covered under your parents’ insurance, their HSA or FSA may have the funds to cover this.
• Your college may likely have a work-study program. The average work-study award is between $2,000 and $5,000. For most students, this is more than enough to cover the cost of at least part of a LASIK procedure.
• Many scholarships can be used towards some of your living expenses. If you get a refund check from your university, this can go towards LASIK expenses.

Are You a Good Candidate for LASIK Surgery While in College?

Your candidacy for a LASIK procedure is determined by a wide variety of different factors, ranging from your age to your eye conditions. Here are some of the benefits to getting the right eye procedure:

• You will save money without having to spend money on contact lenses and glasses throughout your life.
• You will be able to focus on your studies without being plagued by eye strain problems and headaches.
• Courses and majors that require great attention to detail, especially with vision, will be easier.
• You will enjoy not having to worry about your contact lenses each day.

If you feel like eyesight is something that you’d like to not worry about, consider a free vision correction consultation with SharpeVision, with three clinics conveniently located in Seattle, Austin, and Chicago.

Check out our Cost Calculator to see how much you really pay for contacts/glasses vs LASIK!