Understanding Myopia

Sometimes, it is difficult for someone to see objects at a distance but easily read a novel up close. The high chances are that you are nearsighted, medically known as myopia. Myopia is a common vision defect that doctors fix using eye surgery, contacts, and eyeglasses.

Your eye's structure plays a significant role in causing myopia. When the cornea is too curved, or the eyeball is longer than normal, it inhibits the amount of light accessing the eye. Thus, the eye tends to focus images incorrectly, causing blurred and distorted vision.

It's a severe eye disorder, where the eyeball tends to be longer and develops more than it should. This creates a series of problems, including failure to see things that are far, glaucoma cataracts, and detached retina.

Malignant or pathological myopia is a condition that a patient receives from their descendants. In this condition, the eyeball grows quickly during the teenage years, resulting in severe myopia. This condition can escalate and lead to glaucoma, choroid neovascularization, and a detached retina.

The most common symptom of nearsightedness is blurry vision. Other symptoms include headaches resulting from eyestrain, failure to see clearly while driving at night and need to partially or squint eyelids to see clearly.

However, it is easy to detect myopia during childhood since a child may be unable to see objects at a far distance and blink excessively. Sometimes the child may need to sit in front of the classroom or near the movie screen or television.

If you have challenges seeing things at a distance, seek medical services from an experienced eye doctor. The doctor will help identify your condition's degree and give you the right treatment option to remedy your situation.

However, if you experience light flashes in both or one eye, curtain-like shadow when you look at things, and specks swimming in your field of vision, seek emergency medical support as soon as possible. The above signs are symptoms are of retinal detachment, a sporadic disorder of myopia that requires a medical emergency. Visit this page to learn more about cataracts.

Doctors conduct an eye exam to know whether you are myopic. And if you have the condition, they use refractive surgery, contacts, and glasses to solve the issue.

If you are nearsighted, doctors will prescribe contact lenses and glasses with a negative number. The prescription assists the eye in focusing light on the retina, thus, clearing your vision.

If you do not want to wear contact lenses or glasses, you can opt for refractive surgery. Lasik is the most used form of surgery. In this process, the surgeon creates a thin flap on the cornea using a laser; they then sculpt it and move the flap into its respective place.

The other form of eye surgery is photorefractive keratectomy. In this procedure, the surgeon uses a laser to sculpt the inner layer of the cornea. This levels the cornea's curve, allowing light to focus correctly on the retina.

The worst part of myopia is that it is hereditary, and it mostly begins in childhood. However, eye drops such as atropine and multifocal lenses such as eye contact lenses and glasses can reduce its progression.

Mostly, eyes stop changing after becoming an adult, but not always. If you start to experience any change in your vision or start having frequent headaches due to eye strain, set an appointment with your doctor. Remember, myopia's effects can range from mild to severe; hence, you should seek medication as soon as possible.