Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a common eye disorder that is becoming more prevalent yearly. Some experts consider it to be a pandemic, especially among children. Myopia is usually diagnosed before 20, affecting your ability to use distant vision. Specifically, you cannot see objects clearly as they move farther away from your face.

What Is Myopia?

As mentioned above, myopia affects your distant vision. It means that signs and writings that are far will seem blurry. Despite myopia being relatively common and correctable, you may develop the severe forms of the condition. Some serious forms of the condition are:

High Myopia

It is a rare high degree of myopia that is often inherited. The eyeball elongates more than usual in this condition, and the cornea becomes steep. If myopia has a refractive error of more than -6, it is defined as high myopia. When you get to 20 to 30 years, high myopia stabilizes.

Degenerative

Degenerative myopia is rarer than other forms of myopia, but like the others, it develops in early childhood. It is considered more severe because it results in retina damage. It is also a leading cause of vision loss or legal blindness.

What Causes Myopia?

Myopia is predominantly hereditary, meaning that if one or both of your parents have it, you will likely have it too. The exact cause of myopia is unknown, but experts believe it could be a mix of environmental and hereditary factors.

Usually, myopia develops in children and gets worse as they get older. Once they get to 18 to 20 years, their vision stabilizes. On rare occasions, it can progress into adulthood. 

Myopia is often caused by an elongated eyeball and a steep cornea. The eye must be perfectly shaped for light to refract correctly and fall on your retina. In myopia, the light falls in front of the retina, leading to blurry images. The more elongated your eyeball, the worse your myopia.

What Are the Symptoms?

Some of the common symptoms of nearsightedness are:

• Objects far from your face appear blurry or fuzzy.
• Objects close to your face appear very clear.
• Migraines or headaches.
• Squinting.
• Eyestrain.
• Fatigue from playing sports, driving, or activities that involve focusing on a few feet away. 

How Is Myopia Corrected in Adults?

Eye doctors can use three main strategies to correct myopia in adults:

Eyeglasses

Eyeglasses are the oldest form of myopic correction available. The lenses in the eyeglasses help change how the light refracts into the eyes, giving near-perfect vision. How often you need your glasses depends on your myopia level.

Contacts

Contacts are a more recent form of myopic correction. They work the same way as glasses but also correct your peripheral vision. They may provide sharper vision than eyeglasses.

Laser Surgery

The most recent form of myopia correction is laser surgery. Eye doctors reshape the inner tissues of the cornea to change how light refracts into the eye. 

Ortho-K

You can opt for this option if you have mild myopia. Ortho-k lenses reshape your cornea while you sleep, giving you near-perfect vision during the day. The change in visual ability is usually temporary, so you must use the lenses every night.

For more on whether myopia can be corrected in adults, visit Federal Hill Eye Care at our office in Baltimore, Maryland. Call (410) 752-8208​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ to book an appointment today.