Myopia (short-sightedness)

Myopia (short-sightedness) is a refraction issue whereby objects in the distance focus in front of the retina and not on it. This makes these objects seem blurred.  It usually happens in infancy and evolve into adulthood.

It happens because the eye is too long and the cornea has more curvature than normal or the crystalline lens is too powerful. 

The WHO predicts that fifty percent of the world population will have myopia by 2050. 

There are various factors causing this issue, including: 

• Genetic reasons
  Myopia is freuqently passed from parents to their children, as it is a dominant gene. 
• Pathological reasons 
  Some diseases may cause myopia (short-sightedness) either temporarily or permanently. 
• Environmental reasons
  Some people experience eyesight problems in particular circumstances like where there's low ambiental lighting or in certain professions when working at a short distance from an object, such as what happens when we use a microscope. 

The symptoms of myopia may include headache, tiredness, forcing the eyes to see properly and problems focusing on objects in the distance. 

It begins in childhood and usually progresses into adulthood. 

When it comes to children, we should be aware of certain symptoms as myopia tends to manifest itself during the school years: 

• Difficulty seeing the board properly 
• Holding books very close in order to read 
• Sitting very close to the television 
• Poor performance at school

 Treatment for myopia should be tailored to suit each individual case, and although it cannot be cured, it can be corrected through: 

• Correction with glasses and/or contact lenses
  This is the simplest way of correcting myopia.
• Refractive laser surgery
  LASIK, PRK and SMILE, these are the most commonly used techniques in myopia operations due to their proven safety and efficacy. 
• Intraocular lenses 
  In selected cases there are other surgical techniques like phakic intraocular lens implants (without removing the crystalline lens), or the extraction of the crystalline lens and an intraocular lens implant. 

Laser refractive surgery is the most commonly used technique to correct myopia.