What is Myopia?
Myopia, also called near sightedness, is a condition of the eyes, wherein the patient has a good near vision but faces a difficulty seeing things from afar.
Prevalence of Myopia
Myopia is becoming increasingly prevalent around the world, with a recent study showing that close to 30% of the world’s population is currently myopic. Alarmingly, by 2050, close to 50% of the global population will be myopic.
How is a myopic eye different from a normal eye?
Myopia is a condition wherein the eyeball is elongated or too long. However, it can also be caused by the cornea(front cover of the eye) and/or lens being too curved for the eyeball length. Some cases of myopia are due to a combination of these errors.
Due to this, the light rays entering the myopic eye from distance get focused in front of, instead of at the back of the eye i.e, on the retina
What causes myopia?
The exact cause is not known. Factors that might lead to the development of myopia are heredity, excessive reading, excessive screen time, overuse of computers and gadgets, intensely close visual work, cataracts, health conditions such as diabetes, etc
What are the types of Myopia?
Myopia can be
- Congenital, wherein, the child is born with myopia
- Developmental/School myopia, that’s usually not associated with other eye abnormalities. Commonly seen in school going children and gets stabilized by teenage.
- Degenerative/Pathological, that rapidly progresses, and is usually associated with other eye
How do i know i have Myopia?
You are likely to be a myope if you experience the following:
- Clear near vision and blurry distant vision, i.e, you can read from a book clearly but you face a problem driving, or while watching TV or while reading the sign boards. A child might complain of not being able to see what’s written on the black board or he/she might watch TV sitting very close to it.
- Squinting or partial closing of the eyes in order to see clearly.
- Headaches mostly related to eye strain.
- Frequent eye rubbing.
- Frequent eyelid swellings
What are the risks associated with Myopia?
Uncorrected myopia can lead to irreversible blindness called amblyopia or lazy eye. Degenerative myopia can eventually lead to many sight threatening complications like glaucoma, cataracts and retinal detachment and macular degeneration.
Burden of myopia:
Myopia is now a global problem, becoming increasingly prevalent at an alarming rate around the world. A recent study shows that close to 30% of the world’s population is currently myopic. Alarmingly, by 2050, close to 50% of the global population will be myopic. We, at Swarup Eye Center, strive hard to prevent you from landing on the bad side of this statistic!!! In addition to the direct economic and social burdens, associated ocular complications may lead to substantial vision loss.