Understanding Myopia: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Options

Myopia (nearsightedness) is a prevalent vision condition that is often diagnosed before the age of 20. It typically affects your distance vision. You can see near objects clearly but have difficulties seeing faraway objects.

For instance, you may not be able to read road signs or grocery store aisle markers. Recently myopia has been on the rise. Read on to understand what causes myopia, its symptoms, and what treatment options are available.

Is Myopia Common?

The simple answer is yes. Nearsightedness is very common. The American Optometric Association estimates that four out of ten Americans suffer from myopia. This number is rising sharply, especially among school-aged kids.

Statistics show that the trend will keep rising in the coming years. Professionals believe that if your child spends a lot of time engaging in near activities like using computers, smartphones, or reading, they are at a higher risk of developing myopia.

Causes of Myopia

Studies show that you are at a higher risk of developing myopia if one or both of your parents are myopic. Experts still do not know what exactly causes the condition. However, they believe it could be due to environmental and hereditary factors.

Your lifestyle may yield just the right conditions for myopia development, or you may inherit it. Typically, myopia manifests in childhood. Often, it levels off, although, in some instances, it deteriorates as you age.

Myopia Symptoms

The symptoms and signs of myopia may include:

• Headaches.
• The need to partially close your eyelids or squint to see clearly.
• Eyestrain.
• Having blurry vision when trying to look at distant objects.

Your child may have trouble seeing things on screen projections or whiteboards. Younger kids who cannot express themselves may seem unaware of distant objects, sit close to the TV, or rub their eyes frequently. They may also blink and squint persistently.

Myopic adults may notice trouble reading store or street signs. They may also experience night myopia, where they have clear vision in daylight but have difficulty with things such as nighttime driving.

Myopia Treatment

Contacts or glasses are effective in correcting myopia in adults and children. Adults can also benefit from a variety of refractive surgeries. Here are the treatments:

Contact Lenses

Some patients’ distance vision becomes wider and sharper when they use contact lenses. However, contacts require more care to keep them hygienic.

Eyeglasses

It is the most commonly used form of myopia treatment. You can wear glasses daily or just when you need distance vision. Some people might need them only when driving, while some kids may need them only when playing or reading the board.

Ortho-K

If you are mildly myopic, you may benefit from temporary corneal refractive contacts. These lenses are usually worn when going to sleep to temporarily reshape your cornea. You will enjoy a clear vision for the entirety of the day.

LASIK

LASIK is a surgical procedure that can correct myopia. Your ophthalmologist cuts a flap through only the upper layer of your cornea and then reshapes the outer layer and closes the flap.

For more information on myopia, visit Hunter Family Vision at our Leawood or Prairie Village, Kansas, offices. Call (913) 681-8555 or (913) 381-2323 to schedule an appointment today.