Myopia or nearsightedness is a condition that causes people to see objects only in the distance and not close up. The eye has grown too long, causing light rays to focus at a point in front of the retina instead of directly on it.

What Causes Myopia?

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, occurs when the eyeball is slightly too long compared to the focusing power of the cornea and lens of the eye. As a result, images that focus on distant objects appear blurry when looking at nearby objects. According to https://plano.co/eye-health/myopia-nearsightedness-shortsightedness/, Myopia most often results from the increased axial length of the eye due to elongation of one or more parts of the eye. This can be caused by genetic factors (heredity), age, among other things. You might notice that you have close-up trouble by your mid-teens if you develop Myopia.

Why Does Myopia Happen?

Scientists believe there are many reasons for Myopia to occur:

• There may be some genes that control how the eye looks and operates.
• Myopia has been linked to near work, such as reading and looking at computer screens for many hours. Some studies suggest that people who do a lot of close work during their childhood are more likely to become nearsighted than others. This may be because some people can focus well on nearby objects and read or study, while others cannot.
• Myopia also seems related to certain environmental factors such as reduced sunlight exposure and reduced vitamin D levels in early life (during pregnancy or infancy). Vitamin D helps us absorb calcium from food, which our bones need.
• Children with Myopia tend to spend less time outdoors doing physical activity; they may therefore have less healthy bones.
• According to some scientists, Myopia may be an auto-immune disease of the eye. This means that the body’s immune system may attack the eye, but this theory has not been proved yet.

How Can Myopia Be Prevented?

The onset of Myopia is usually gradual and painless. But over time, it will become more difficult to focus on near objects as their distance increases. To keep your child’s eyesight good for life, try these strategies:

1. Encourage plenty of outdoor playtime during childhood. The more sunlight children are exposed to, the healthier their eyes will be later in life.
2. Limit the amount of time your child spends looking at near objects such as books or screens.
3. Encourage your child to take plenty of outdoor breaks when they’re doing lots of studying.
4. Ensure that your child has an eye test every two years, and if anything in their eyesight is found to be different from normal, seek advice from a health professional immediately.

What Can I Do?

Scientists have not yet discovered how much time outdoors discourages Myopia in children who are already at risk for it. But we know enough about sunlight and vitamin D to suggest that parents encourage their children to spend more time outside during infancy and early childhood when Myopia often begins.

How To Treat Myopia

The most common way to treat this is to remove the excess part of the eye and reshape the cornea (for example, with a laser), thus allowing light rays to focus on the retina. This procedure is known as LASIK.

In most, Myopia does not cause any vision problems other than the potential to develop irreversible eye damage over time gradually.

If your child’s doctor finds that they have a problem with their eyes’ focusing ability, you might be referred to an ophthalmologist for testing and examination.

Eye drops or glasses can improve sight in cases where this is necessary. However, no treatment will cure Myopia completely. To keep it under control, your doctor may recommend:

1. Wearing glasses when near work must be done.
2. Wearing a patch on one eye to stop using both eyes together (binocular vision).
3. Having eye exercises performed by therapists.
4. Having surgery to change the curvature of one or both eyes.
5. Giving vitamins and minerals that might help the eye grow.

Conclusion

Myopia is a condition that causes the individual to have blurry vision when viewing objects in the distance. This occurs because of elongation of the eye’s lens, which results in light being distorted before it reaches the retina, the light-sensitive tissue lining in the back of the eye. Myopia can be prevented by spending more time outdoors, getting enough vitamin D, having an eye test every two years, and wearing glasses or eye drops if necessary.