In the medical word, nearsightedness is called myopia. Now, it is the most common eye problem around the globe. It makes people see objects clearly only when they are near. The typical symptom is blurry vision. Understanding Nearsightedness allows one to do preventive measures against legal blindness.

Compared with some major health issues, myopia may be the most neglected world health concern. It slipped through the hands of eye experts to rise as the fourth leading cause of legal blindness in some Asian countries like Hong Kong. There were only few and less effective treatment available in the past that untreated, it has now become a leading mid-year crises.

Alarmingly, growing number of children suffer this disease. There is about over a third of children with normal vision that regressed during school years. Worst, many of these victims become legally blind without intervention. There is a significant number of cases in highly literate Asian countries with about 90% college student population affected.

While this disease has become so common, it is supposedly easy to be corrected with surgery or correctional lenses. What happens with the vision is that when an eyeball is elongated or the cornea has over curvature, the light that enters the eye is short from reaching the retina. Correcting the length or distance where the light needs to extend or the curve of the retina to extend the length of the light to reach the retina corrects this problem.

The most important and yet simplest form of exam to check the vision is the vision test. In this test, a standardized chart is used. The patient is asked to read the letters on the chart twenty feet away from him. It reveals the distance where the letters can be read effortlessly. To illustrate, if a patient standing 20 feet away can read with ease up to the point where the letters are normally read without strain as far as 80 feet, his vision is measured as 20/80.

The common treatment for myopia is a set of prescription glasses. This aids light focus to the retina. The downside of this is that it may cause dependence and may even aggravate the myopia. This is why people who wear graded glasses need to adjust to higher lens requirements along the years. It can be avoided by submitting to a surgical procedure.

Some of the invasive procedures to treat myopia are photorefractive keratectomy, laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis and corneal rings. Photorefractive keratectomy or PRK is a laser used to rip a layer of corneal tissue to slightly level the cornea. This allows light rays to focus on the retina.

Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis is popularly known as Lasik. This is a laser that is used to cut a flap on top of the cornea. After removing some corneal tissues underneath the flap, this same flap is re-placed. Today, this is the most common prescribed surgery for myopia.

A gentler option is the plastic corneal rings because it does not remove any corneal tissues in reshaping the curvature of the cornea. This is effective for mild myopia cases. Here, an implant is placed under the edge of the cornea. To attain the right curvature, more ultra-thin rings are implanted. This implant can be replaced or removed safely, or can be left in place during the patient’s lifetime.

Understanding nearsightedness gives the confidence one needs to take the step for improvement. It can also help prevent further damage to the vision. Myopia can be prevented as much as it can be cured.

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