Nearsightedness / Myopia

An introduction to Myopia

A COMMON EYE SHAPE THAT HINDERS YOUR ABILITY TO FOCUS LIGHT CORRECTLY

Also known as nearsightedness, myopia occurs when the eyeball is too long from front to back, or the eye’s focusing mechanism is too strong.

This causes light rays to be focused in front of, rather than on, the retina. People with myopia have difficulty seeing distant objects. This refractive abnormality is corrected with a minus (negative or concave) lens.

The image below illustrates where the light focuses in normal vision and in a nearsighted eye.

Myopia symptoms and lifestyle impact

NEARSIGHTEDNESS CAUSES YOU TO HAVE PROBLEMS FOCUSING ON OBJECTS THAT ARE FAR AWAY

What are some symptoms of nearsightedness?

• You may have blurry vision when looking at distant objects

• You may feel the need to squint or partially close the eyelids to see more clearly

• You may experience headaches caused by eyestrain

• You may have difficulty seeing while driving a car and might notice this mainly at night

Underlying causes of Myopia

NEARSIGHTEDNESS MAINLY OCCURS BECAUSE YOUR EYE IS SLIGHTLY LONGER THAN NORMAL

Myopia occurs when your eyeball is slightly longer, or your cornea is more curved than it ought to be.

That means that when the light rays focus, they do so somewhat in front of rather than on the retina resulting in a blurred image. The effect of this is that you cannot see distant objects clearly. For example, you might have trouble seeing the numbers on the front of buses.

Your close vision may be excellent because your eye is naturally focused at this distance.

LASIK can correct nearsightedness by changing the shape of the cornea so that its focusing power is matched to the length of the eye.

Examination protocol for Myopia

WE CAN SAFELY DETERMINE IF WE CAN FIX YOUR NEARSIGHTEDNESS IN ONE APPOINTMENT

Despite it being obvious they need glasses or contact lenses, many people don’t know whether they are farsighted or nearsighted. An eye doctor or eye surgeon can conduct an eye examination to determine if you’re nearsighted.

First, the eye doctor or surgeon will check as you to read letters on an eye chart simulating different distances.

Then the eye doctor or surgeon will ask you to look through a variety of lenses to correct your vision progressively making close objects appear more clearly.

Treatment options for Myopia

THIS LIFE-CHANGING TREATMENT IS ONLY SUITABLE FOR THE RIGHT PERSON

The most popular way to correct the effects of nearsightedness is to wear prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses. The corrective lenses refract (bend) the light so that it focuses more directly on your retina, instead of before it.

If you find glasses or contact lenses inconvenient, or if you’re concerned about the harmful effects of wearing contact lenses over a prolonged period of time, then LASIK eye surgery may be a good solution for you.

LASIK eye surgery involves using a cold laser to reshape the curvature of your cornea so that you don’t have nearsightedness anymore. The procedure is painless, safe and effective. The results are permanent.

If astigmatism accompanies your nearsightedness, a laser eye surgeon can correct this other refractive error at the same time as they fix your nearsightedness.

If reducing your dependency on glasses or contact lenses interests you, you can learn more about LASIK or contact us.