Myopia

This is the opposite to hyperopia and is commonly known as near-sightedness, meaning you can usually clearly read close objects, but will find it hard to see objects clearly in the distance.

The cause – the eyeball is too long, or the cornea has too much curvature, so the light entering the eye is unable to focus correctly.

While simple myopia is very common, there are a number of conditions and eye issues that can create different forms of myopia such as degenerative myopia (a form that gets progressively worse), nocturnal myopia (which occurs mainly in low-light conditions), induced myopia (typically caused by exposure to pharmaceuticals), index myopia (cataracts can induce this) and several others. Again, it’s important to be properly assessed to determine which type of myopia is affecting you.

Symptoms

Also known as near-sightedness, myopia is the condition where a person can see clearly when items are up close, however objects in the distance are blurry.  Typically people with myopia will begin wearing glasses at a young age (15 years).

Assessment

An optometrist will use a number of tools to reveal the degree of myopia. As well as an eye chart and lenses, a retinoscope can make an initial assessment, then a phoropter can refine the patient’s prescription.

Treatment

Glasses, contact lenses or laser surgery can all correct myopia.

Refractive surgery such as LASIK laser eye surgery, ASLA (sometimes known as PRK) and implantable contact lenses are all procedures that can reduce the dependancy on – or even eliminate the need – for glasses or contact lenses. For more information on types of laser surgery, click here.