Short-sightedness — 10 most important facts

Short-sightedness, also known as myopia, is currently one of the most frequent vision defects. The statistics are rather alarming, as it is estimated that in the near future an epidemic of myopia is likely to break out and by 2050 as much as 70% of our population will have developed this defect. What should we know about short-sightedness?

1. To put it simply, short-sightedness is an eye condition which causes distant objects to appear blurred while close objects can be seen clearly. This vision defect results from the incorrect focusing of the light rays which come into the eyes. Instead of focusing on the retina, the light focuses in front of it, which leads to excessively high optical power of the eye in relation to the length of the eye bulb. In myopia the eye bulb is elongated along the visual axis.
2. Short-sightedness up to -3 dioptres is called low myopia (or sometimes school myopia), between -3 and -6 dioptres - medium (moderate) myopia, and above -6 dioptres – high myopia.
3. Eye bulbs grow mostly during puberty; therefore first symptoms of short-sightedness may be observed as early as at school age. Myopia usually increases until the eye is fully developed and stops growing, i.e. up to approximately 21 years of age.
4. One of characteristic features of short-sightedness is squinting – hence the name myopia (Greek for squint). By squinting a short-sighted person improves visual acuity while looking at distant objects. Headaches are one of the symptoms of myopia, more common in children than adults.
5. A direct cause of short-sightedness remains unknown. We do distinguish various factors which increase the risk of myopia (environmental, genetic and ethnic factors as well as complications suffered from after certain diseases), yet the main reason for the occurrence of myopia has not been discovered.
6. According to the newest research, there is a direct correlation between deterioration of visual acuity and our current lifestyle – we spend too much time in artificially lit rooms, staring at the screens of our computers, which requires focusing the eyes on one close object.
7. Light exposure plays a very important role in myopia prevention. Natural light alleviates the symptoms of short-sightedness; therefore, it is recommendable to maintain a healthy balance between the time we spend indoors in front of computer monitors and the time spend in the fresh air.
8. Short-sightedness is corrected through the use of so-called diverging (negative) lenses whose purpose is to diverge rays of light that come into the eye from distant objects.
9. What is of great importance in any eye condition prophylaxis, including short-sightedness prophylaxis, is to undergo regular check-up eye tests and visual acuity examination, once a year or at least every two years.
10. Short-sightedness can be corrected through the use of glasses, contact lenses or laser vision correction. The laser vision correction surgery allows for a permanent visual recovery.

If you are already short-sighted, remember about vision prophylaxis. If you are willing to get rid of myopia once and for all, then you should consider laser vision correction and after only a few days following the surgery you will forget that you have ever had any visual acuity impairment. Check whether laser vision correction is suitable for you. Make an appointment for the qualifying examination for laser eye surgery or fill in the preliminary qualification form 

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