Myopia Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Definition
Farsightedness or myopia is impaired vision at long distances. This disorder makes the sufferer experience blurry or unclear vision when looking at a distance. For example, it is not clear to see traffic lights. However, there is no problem seeing at close range like reading a book.
This refractive disorder is usually experienced by sufferers from a young age. This condition can generally be corrected using aids or surgery.
Myopia Symptom
Blurred vision seeing far away is not the only symptom of nearsightedness. Other symptoms that generally appear can be:
- Headache
- Squint
- Strained eyes
- Eyes get tired when looking at objects several meters away
- Difficulty reading blackboards at school in children
Myopia Reason
The cause of nearsightedness is the eyeball that becomes too long or the cornea of the eye that is too curved. Both of these cause the light entering the eye cannot focus properly. Images that enter the eye eventually fall in the area in front of the retina so that vision becomes blurred.
Myopia can become more serious when the eyeball grows more than it should and becomes very long from front to back. In addition to causing nearsightedness, this high myopia condition also increases the risk of blindness due to retinal detachment (detachment of the retina), cataracts and glaucoma.
Degenerative myopia is caused by a genetic disorder and can be inherited. In this disorder, the eyeball elongates rapidly causing severe myopia from adolescence to young adulthood. Degenerative myopia also increases the risk of retinal detachment, glaucoma, and choroidal neovascularization (the growth of new abnormal blood vessels in the eye).
Diagnosis
Doctors can determine the diagnosis of nearsightedness based on the symptoms conveyed by the sufferer. A complete refractive eye examination will confirm myopia. The doctor will also find out the size of the lens to correct your myopia.
Myopia Treatment
Myopia or nearsightedness can be corrected with aids (glasses and contact lenses) and surgery. The size of the aids is checked using an eye refraction test. The more negative the correction number, the stronger the lens.
For example, -3.00 is stronger than -2.50. The lens helps the eye to focus light precisely on the retina of the eye.
Eye surgery can also improve your vision. Thus, you do not need to use tools such as glasses or contact lenses. There are two common surgical procedures performed to correct myopia, namely:
-
Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK)
This procedure uses a laser to flatten the middle layer of the cornea so that light falls on the retina.
-
Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)
This procedure uses a laser or other instrument to create a thin flap over the top of the cornea, shape the cornea and close the fold again.
Another option is orthokeratology, where people with myopia will use special contact lenses ( rigid gas permeable or gas permeable ) that can shape the cornea of the eye while sleeping. In the morning, the cornea will remain in its new shape temporarily. Thus, you can view remotely without any tools.
Prevention
Nearsightedness or myopia that occurs due to genetic disorders cannot be avoided. Apart from genetic factors, many medical experts also argue that myopia can be caused by eye fatigue.
Generally due to prolonged use of computers and other close-up activities. Therefore, avoiding these activities for a long time may reduce the risk of nearsightedness.