Myopia

Near-sightedness, or myopia, is a common ocular refractive error. In myopia, distant objects appear blurred while near objects appear clear. Symptoms characteristic of myopia often appear at a transitional age and gradually progress as the eyeball grows.

What causes near-sightedness?

In near-sightedness the rays hitting the eyeball cannot be focused on the retina, resulting in blurred vision. Near-sightedness is characterized by genetic predisposition.

Diagnosis

Myopia is diagnosed by an ophthalmologist with the help of a special refractometry test which determines the ocular refractive power. If you notice that you have difficulty distinguishing objects far away from you and it is not a problem for the people around you, see a specialist to rule out myopia.

Treatment

There are basically 3 ways to correct myopia:

• Correction with glasses
• Correction with contact lenses
• The surgical way combines excimer laser vision correction, phakic lens implantation and refractive phacoemulsification.

Myopia increases the risk of developing various eye diseases such as:

• Peripheral retinal degeneration
• Vitreous body destruction
• Macular degeneration
• Retinal detachment

In adults, cataracts sometimes lead to myopia. In cataract, the crystalline lens of the eye which is usually clear starts to become cloudy which leads to impairment of vision. This is usually associated with age.

Depending on the degree, myopia is divided into 3 types:

• Mild: from -0.5D to -3D.
• Intermediate: -3D to -6D.
• High: more than 6D. If you have this type, you can only see objects clearly by bringing them closer to your eyes.

Laser surgery

Laser surgery involves changing the profile of the upper layer of the cornea with a laser, after which your vision becomes clear. The laser surgery is performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia (only through eye drops) and lasts a few seconds. After the correction, the patient returns to normal life the next day.