subject: Nearsightedness Or Myopia - Treatment Options For This Common Vision Problem [print this page] Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a very common vision problem. In fact, up to one-third of the population suffers from this issue. Nearsighted people can see well up-close, but have difficulty seeing into the distance, for tasks such as reading street signs. Symptoms of myopia include eye strain or headaches, particularly when playing sports or driving. If you are nearsighted, you may feel the need to squint to view far-away objects, and they may appear blurry.
Myopia is caused by an irregularity in the shape of the eye. The eyeball is slightly longer than usual from front to back. As a result, the light rays focus not on a point directly on the retina, but at a point in front of it.
Nearsightedness is often hereditary, and is often noticed during childhood. Prescriptions for myopia change frequently in children or adults as the eye shape grows and changes. The severity of nearsightedness often stabilizes by adulthood, though in some cases it continues to worsen with age. Treatment options include prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses. These may need to be worn all the time, or only when distance vision is necessary, depending on the extent of myopia.
Refractive or laser surgery can reduce or even eliminate your need for contacts or glasses. Potential laser procedures to treat nearsightedness include LASIK or PRK. During LASIK, a flap is cut in the cornea to allow the eye surgeon to remove corneal tissue, flattening the cornea. In PRK, the tissue is removed from the surface of the eye, and no incisions or flaps are required.
Another treatment option, orthokeratology, is a non-surgical method designed to reshape the cornea over time through the use of special contact lenses. When these lenses are removed, the cornea retains the shape temporarily, though eventually the nearsightedness will return. Another new method used to treat myopia is known as phakic IOLs. These implantable lenses are designed for severe nearsightedness that cannot be corrected with LASIK, prescription eyeglasses, or other methods. These devices work like contact lenses which are permanently implanted within the eye.
