Visual Acuity

[eileen hughes]

Help! Just received copy of letter hospital have sent to our GP. States he has Visual acuity 3/3 right, 3/19 left. Can anyone tell what this means. I know that his left eye is the one that is affected but that's as far as it goes.

The Consultant has also said that he is being referred to the Geneticist to rule out the possibility of "Marfan's Syndrome" or any other connective tissue disorder. Knew they were going to refer us to Genetics clinic but didn't know that they were trying to rule something out. Wish they would tell you things when at the clinic rather than just sending a letter out of the blue!

He has also said that he has bilateral allergic eye disease! This means absolutely nothing to me, so if anyone can shed some light on these things I would be really grateful.

[jayuk]

Hi

This may be one for the Pros; but here is a good site for Marfans

http://www.marfan.org/nmf/GetContentReq ... _item_id=2


with regards to the 3/19 that means that the VA was measured at a shorter distance of 3 metres as opposed to usual 6/6 - 6 metres)

[John Smith]

Hello Eileen,

I've not come across 3-based measurement before but it is purely a ratio expressing visual acuity compared to someone with "normal" vision.

So 3/3 or 6/6 (metres) and 20/20 feet all mean the same thing. Normal vision.

Someone with 3/19 acuity would be able to see something at 3m away that a "normal" person can see at 19m. Most commonly in the UK, the measurements are 6-based; so 3/19 would be the same as 6/38.

Basically, it is saying that vision in the right eye is "normal", but pretty bad in the left eye. I'm around 6/30-6/60 (counting fingers) in my left eye which is worse, but pretty reasonable in my right... and I'm legal to drive, so it's not the end of the world by any means.

Just hang in there!

[eileen hughes]

Thanks for the replies. The website has been very informative. The only thing is you tend to read so much about things that you could almost convince yourself that it definitely applies. Got to try and be objective about all this. Hopefully the appointment won't be too long coming through though - but then we are talking about the NHS!!!

John - thanks for the information on what the figures stand for. Still doesn't really mean an awful lot, just that I know that he can't see at all well with his left eye.

He is being a pain at the moment not wanting to use his eyes drops or rather forgetting to use them. The doctor has prescribed alomide eye drops - have read that they are for allergic eye conditions. Presume the doctor believes that he has an allergy, could possibly be hay fever as both myself and his older sister have quite bad hay fever.

The sooner we get all the initial appointments over with the better, then I am sure we will have a better picture of what we have to deal with.

On a lighter note, when he went on a school trip to Alton Towers he found out that if we tell the school he has a problem with his eyesight he can get a priority wristband which means that he doesn't have to queue up for the rides! If only everything was that simple!! This is coming from a child who didn't want the teachers to know there was anything wrong and yes you have guessed right - he now wants me to tell them!!! Well I suppose he is entitled to some perks in life!

[Lynn White]

Hi!!

The "3/3" figure just means that the vision has been measured in a normal room without using a mirror. As in the chart is 3 metres away from the person. In a normal testing environment, the chart is behind the patient and is viewed in a mirror 3 metres away which actually makes the distance 6 metres...!

So, as John says, 3/3 corresponds to 6/6 which is normal vision. 3/19 corresponds to 6/38 which is only the second line down on a normal chart.

The tests are really to check out whether he has general conditions that might be associated with KC and many KC sufferers have allergies so that is not any surprise.

I might just add that really these tests that they do are routine and before all this "transparancy" in the health service where you see the letters that go back and forth, you would not have been even aware they were going on. You would only have been told if there was a problem.

Its a case of more info give more worries sometimes!

The drops are to reduce the allergy which may cause itching which can lead to eye rubbing - if he now wants the teachers to know - tell him to use his drops at school!! Just a suggestion!

Lynn