Our vision can easily confuse us – especially when we notice that we are able to see what’s up close to our face like the ketchup bottle on the dining table yet the words on the canvas hanging across the room seem to be blurry. In this reading, you will get a clear understanding of what actually is this, the causes and symptoms one would experience and finally the treatment available for it.
Myopia: What Causes this Short-sightedness Eye Problem?
What is myopia you asked? Briefly put, it is a refractive error that leads to blurry vision for long distances. As mentioned above, a person would have no issues with his/her vision seeing things that are near to them. However, they would face difficulty in distance vision.
The primary culprit of the short-sightedness eye problem, Myopia, is your own eyes. Here’s why – as either the eyeball or the cornea is too long, the protective outer layer of your eye becomes too curved, causing the light that penetrates your eyes to not focus accurately. It will instead focus in front of the light-sensitive part of the eye instead of directly onto the retina.
Two common types of myopia are high myopia and degenerative myopia.
With high myopia, the severity of this condition is due to the eyeballs growing more than the actual size, stretched long front to back. This is a risky condition as it may also lead to other eye problems aside from myopia such as detached retina, cataracts and glaucoma.
On the other hand, degenerative myopia is considered to be malignant and rare, usually hereditary. Most of those who develop this condition will begin to see the worst of it by the teenage or early adulthood phase of their life. The probability of having detached retina, choroid neovascularization and glaucoma increases for them as well.
Symptoms You Likely Experience with Short-sightedness Eye Problem (Myopia)
The most obvious symptom to consider myopia as the eye problem you’re facing is the struggle for distance vision, where far objects or words may appear blurred and frizzy to your eyes. Simultaneously, you also notice your near vision is perfectly clear, contradicting the other.
With far vision, you find yourself squinting and straining your eyes to make sense of the vision you’re seeing. This also leads to another symptom of experiencing frequent headaches that make your misery worse in your eyes.
Since it is quite known to begin in childhood itself, myopia or the short-sightedness children experience most often results in them having difficulty reading the board up front in the class, often bringing objects close to their eyes or sitting too close to things or other people for clearer views, and their attention span reduces due to their eye unable to hold the focus for long duration of time.
Myopia: Treatment for Short-sightedness Eye Problem
So, how to cure this short-sightedness, Myopia permanently? No worries, we understand that it can be daunting to struggle with your vision especially if it starts from your childhood. Having to wear glasses or contact lenses can be uncomfortable and a hassle, holding us from plenty of things we would enjoy doing otherwise.
Having said that, how do you decide which option suits you best? Simple! Have an appointment with the best eye doctor in Malaysia, where during the consultation you will undergo an eye examination like a visual acuity test to diagnose how your eyes focus light and measure the power of any correction you may need. Next, using a phoropter and placing a series of lenses in front of your eyes, the refractive error in your eyes will be measured to determine the lens strength you would need.
However, the process differs for kids. Usually, during the eye check-up for kids, the eye doctor would perform a physical examination of the kid’s eyes to evaluate their regular light reflex. For kids aged 5 years and older, the “Random E’s Visual Acuity Test” would be used as well. Here, we would highly suggest parents continue getting their kid’s vision checked regularly as they grow up instead of waiting for any trouble to arise, as early detection can help them in the long run.
Over the years, the treatment for myopia has evolved tremendously thanks to advances in research and technology. From just glasses and contact lenses correcting the refractive error in your eyes, options such as LASIK eye surgery have been the most preferred myopia treatment in Malaysia, promising smooth procedure, excellent results and quick recovery!
