MYOPIA - treating shortsightedness in Birmingham
Myopia: "I see nearby but not far away"
You are “short-sighted” (also known as myopia). Distant objects are focussed in front of your retina because your eye is too long & the focusing power of your eye is too strong.
Wearing minus (-) glasses moves the focal plane backwards which focuses the image you’re looking at on your retina.
If you’re short-sighted your eyes look smaller through your glasses & everything you look at will also look smaller than when you are wearing contact lenses.
Myopia explained in 30 seconds
Example of a for someone with myopia or short-sightedness:
The sphere or SPH blocks have negative numbers, for example -3.25 for the right eye. The higher the number, the higher the degree of myopia or short-sightedness.
A positive SPH number indicates hyperopia. The cylinder or CYL indicates the amount of astigmatism. The axis indicates the position of the astigmatism. Contact lens prescriptions are similar & these numbers are listed on the side of the box.
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Myopia: The problem & the treatment
Fifty years ago few people were short-sighted, but the number of people with myopia (short-sightedness) is increasing. Myopia usually starts developing between the ages of eight & 12. Your eyes grow during childhood & short-sightedness can develop until they’re fully grown. Myopia is unlikely to develop after that, so it usually occurs before the age of 20.
Short-sightedness is very common. There are currently about 900 million myopic people in the world. And 25% of adults & 50% of teenagers in the UK are myopic.
Children often don’t realise they are short-sighted. Signs that your child is short-sighted include squinting or rubbiing their eyes, sitting close to the TV or having trouble seeing the blackboard or whiteboard at school.
The answer is complex, but the more time children spend outdoors, the less likely they are to develop myopia. More sunshine, less time watching TV, looking at computers, mobile phones & reading reduces myopia. But our genes are also important & we may pass our myopia on to our children.
Myopia can be corrected with laser & lens surgery and millions of people are seeing well without glasses now. But preventing myopia is better than correcting it, so encourage children to play outside more & spend less time on their phones.
Focusing power of eyes is measured in dioptres (D). The higher the number, the more short-sighted you are.
Mild short-sightedness is up to -3.00D. If you’re mildly short-sighted you may manage around your home without glasses or contact lenses, but you need them for driving & watching TV. Vision correction surgery such as LASIK works very well for mild myopia.
Moderate myopia is -3.00D to -6.00D & you won’t be able to get by without glasses or contact lenses. Laser eye surgery makes a big difference to people with moderate myopia. If you are over the age of 50 lens replacement surgery may be a better solution.
High myopia is -6.00D or over. High myopia carries a higher risk of other eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma & retinal problems. So if we can prevent high myopia we reduce the risks later in life. Reducing the time children spend indoors & on their phones reduces the risk of them developing high myopia. Laser eye surgery can correct high myopia & Visian ICL surgery is an excellent treatment for the highest degrees oh myopia. If you are over the age of 50 then lens replacement surgery is usually the best surgery option.
Answer a few questions to see what’s the best vision correction solution for you.
How to correct your myopia?
Book a consultation with Dr. Mark Wevill an eye surgeon who has specialised in doing laser & lens vision correction. He has been correcting myopia and other vision problems in Birmingham & the West Midlands since 2002.
Lens & laser eye surgery solutions can improve distance vision for short-sighted people. The price of correcting your myopia depends on the treatment that’s best for you & we’ll find an affordable way to discover what you’ve been missing.
