Myopia Management FAQs
The term myopia is used to refer to the nearsightedness condition. People who cannot see distant objects are myopic. Myopia is a common condition that affects people of all ages. Myopia is a result of refractive error. In most cases, the structure of the eye is to blame for myopia. When the cornea of the eye is irregularly shaped, then it distorts images making it hard to see objects that are far.
When the cornea is too curved or too long, images don’t refract well in the retina, causing blurred vision for the patient. People with myopia experience headaches, eyestrain, and squinting, and eye fatigue. Children with myopia have trouble seeing the blackboard and reading text that is not too close.
Types of Myopia
The most common type of myopia is a congenital condition that is inherited from parents. It is malignant myopia that hits most people in their teenage or early adult years. The eyeball grows too long and distorts the way light enters the eye. Patients with this type of myopia are also at risk of developing a detached retina and macular degeneration.
The other type of myopia is high myopia. It is caused by other eye conditions that make it hard to see in the distance. Corneal trauma, cataracts, detached retina, and glaucoma can contribute to myopia. Some research studies concluded that people who spend too much time indoors without natural light are at a higher risk of developing myopia than people who spend a lot of time outdoors. Spending time outside helps to prevent early-onset myopia.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Myopia is diagnosed using a basic eye exam. A refraction assessment is done by your eye doctor. The patient looks through different lenses. These help the doctor to check the way the eyes respond to objects in the distance and those that are near the patient. The treatment will be determined by the severity of the condition.
Topical Medication
Some cases of myopia can be managed with atropine, which is a topical eye drops medication. It works by dilating the pupils to allow light to reach the retina.
Prescription Eyeglasses
Managing myopia requires monitoring and treating symptoms and complications. The most common way of managing myopia is the use of prescription glasses. Wearing corrective lenses helps to sharpen the image. A variety of lenses ranging from progressive multifocal, bifocals, trifocals, and single vision lenses are a safe way to sharpen the image.
Contact Lenses
Contact lenses worn on the eyes also help to manage myopia. They are available in a variety of materials. Soft, rigid, and gas permeable lenses are available for myopia management. Other contact lenses, such as the spherical, multifocal, and hybrid lenses, help to deal with complicated cases of myopia.
Refractive Eye Surgery
Refractive eye surgeries help to correct the cornea hence giving the patient sharp vision. The eye surgeon uses laser technology to reshape the cornea and correct refraction problems. LASIK and LASEK procedures are common ways of reshaping the cornea. Photorefractive keratectomy is a surgical procedure that helps to give the cornea a new shape. It helps patients with severe myopia caused by other eye conditions, such as cataracts and macular degeneration.
To learn more about myopia, call TMS Eyecare at one of our offices (316) 669-4760, (316) 686-7212 or (620) 442-2577 in Wichita and Arkansas City, Kansas respectively.
