Questions about Myopia
Myopia or nearsightedness is one of the most common vision complaints. Approximately 30 percent of the population has some degree of myopia. Of course, some people have more severe symptoms that require vision correction in order to function in society.
What is myopia?
With myopia, you can see things close up, but objects in the distance appear blurry to some degree. The problem comes from the way the light is refracted through your cornea and lens to your retina. Instead of putting a crisp, clear image on the retina, the focal point sits in front of it, causing the image to be blurry.
The onset of myopia occurs at any time through your life and many children suffer from nearsightedness and require glasses for correction. The blurriness usually increases at night, which you may notice while driving at night.
What causes myopia?
There are two basic problems that cause myopia:
- Steep corneas
- Elongated eyes
Both conditions have the same affect of putting the focal point of the light waves passing through your eye just in front of your retina, making the image blurry. Nearby objects reflect the light and is adjusted by your lens to sharpen objects and make them easier to see.
Squinting and reading close does seem to make myopia worse.
What are the symptoms of myopia?
Some of the signs and symptoms include:
- Blurriness
- Eye strain
- Headaches
These symptoms are frequently interconnected. When things are out of focus, it is natural to try to bring them into focus by squinting. For objects in the distance however, this typically just leads to eyestrain that subsequently results in headaches.
What are my treatment options?
Traditionally, myopia is treated with concave lenses, either glasses or contact lenses, that attempt to correct the refraction of light passing through the corneas and lenses of your eye, bringing the focus of light back onto your retina instead of in front of it.
Thanks to advances in technology, other treatment options like laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis or Custom LASIK surgery are also available. Using the same theories on light, your cornea is actually reshaped to account for the differences in refraction to bring the images back into focus.
Is there any reason I can't have LASIK?
Only a comprehensive eye exam can tell you if you are a good candidate for LASIK surgery. Some of the things that might prevent you from being a good candidate include:
- Not enough corneal material
- Other vision problems like macular degeneration or glaucoma
If you are diagnosed with astigmatism as well as myopia, you may still be able to undergo custom LASIK surgery using the advanced Wavefront technology.
In order to find out more about treating myopia with LASIK, please contact Advanced Eye & Laser Center of California, Inc. in San Diego to schedule an initial consultation.
Advanced Eye & Laser