Eye Care - Nearsightedness/Myopia

Nearsightedness affects approximately 20 to 25% of the population. It affects men and women equally, and tends to run in families. For people who are nearsighted, or myopic, objects in the distance appear blurry. This is a result of the cornea (the outermost portion of your eye) being overly curved, which causes images to focus in front of the retina.

Symptoms:
Nearsightedness usually appears in childhood. Since objects in the distance appear blurry, but objects nearby are seen clearly, nearsighted children may:

• hold reading materials close to their eyes
• sit in the front of the classroom
• sit very near the television
  
    

Diagnosis and Treatments:
A routine eye exam by an optometrist can confirm whether someone is nearsighted. Typically a Snellen test is performed. The Snellen test is an eye chart using letters of decreasing size, which enables the optometrist to determine whether someone is nearsighted, farsighted or has astigmatism. Approximately two-thirds of those diagnosed with nearsightedness also have astigmatism.

The optometrist may also test for glaucoma, examine the cornea using a slit lamp microscope and an ophthalmoscope to reveal problems with the retina, macula, and optic nerve.

If the tests reveal nearsightedness, your optometrist can prescribe glasses or contacts that will enable images to focus correctly on the retina.