Pupils and light?!


Question: I recently went to the optometrist to have my eyes checked. I'm slightly short-sighted and have been wearing glasses for about a year. The optometrist said that my short-sightedness is related to the fact that my pupils are larger than most peoples.
I am interested to know that becasue I have large pupils does that mean I get more light into my eyes? Would this mean I literally "see things differently" to other people, if not only a tiny bit? How is this related to short-sightedness? What other affects does this have on my seeing?

If you could answer any of my questions, it would be much appreciated and would certainly quench my curiosity.


Answers: I recently went to the optometrist to have my eyes checked. I'm slightly short-sighted and have been wearing glasses for about a year. The optometrist said that my short-sightedness is related to the fact that my pupils are larger than most peoples.
I am interested to know that becasue I have large pupils does that mean I get more light into my eyes? Would this mean I literally "see things differently" to other people, if not only a tiny bit? How is this related to short-sightedness? What other affects does this have on my seeing?

If you could answer any of my questions, it would be much appreciated and would certainly quench my curiosity.

"The optometrist said that my short-sightedness is related to the fact that my pupils are larger than most peoples. "

That makes no sense at all...
If the optometrist said that, they should not have,

Is there is any possibility you've mis-understood?
Younger people and those with lighter coloured eyes tend to have larger pupils, but there's a lot of normal variation.

There is no association with large pupils and short-sight.
EXCEPT:
with a given amount of long OR short sight, the amount of blur that causes is dependent on the size of the pupils.
If the eyes are in good focus, pupil size has no or little effect on the vision, providing it's suitable for the level of lighting.

But if someone has an Rx of -2.00 they will see much better with a 1mm pupil than an 8mm one. Try it with a piece of paper with a 1mm hole, held close to your eye, without your glasses.

There are other secondary issues with large pupils: they can make both contact lens wear and Lasik more problematical, as the light gathering area can extend out to areas of the contact/laser zone that are not optically good, especially at night.

Optometrist, retired.





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