You must have heard of myopia or shortsightedness, also called as nearsightedness. It is an eye condition in which a person is able to see close objects clearly but the distant or far objects appear blurred. You also must be aware of the fact that myopia is rising worldwide and more commonly affecting the children of school going age and usually stabilizes between 20 to 40 years of age.¹

Here are some of its symptoms¹ –

• Blurry vision while looking at distant objects
• Headache
• Eye strain
• Need to squint or partially close the eyes to see things clearly

In case of children these symptoms can be missed but a few changes in their behavioural pattern can be observed like¹

• Persistent squint
• Excessive blinking
• Rubbing of eyes
• Going too close to the object to see it like TV, Computer screen or board in school
• Unawareness of distant objects

We have understood what symptoms patient of myopia can have. Now let’s understand why myopia occurs?

Two parts of the eye are important in focussing images namely cornea and lens. Cornea is the clear, outer dome shaped part which is on the front surface of our eyeball while lens lies inside the eye is also clear, spindle shaped structure. In normal condition when we something means the light passes through both these structures and they bend the light rays the process is called refraction, so that the light is focussed directly on the retina, a structure lying at the back of the eye. The tissues of the retina translate light into signals which are sent to brain and we get the perception of an image.¹

But it is not so in case of myopia. The problem is all because of the defective structure of your eyeball. When the eyeball is too long or oval shaped instead of round; the cornea (the protective layer of eyeball) is too curved the light rays which enter your eyeball will not focus correctly. The image of the object formed by these light rays does not focus exactly on retina, instead it is formed in front of retina making it blurry and a person cannot see clearly. If the eyeball grows more than it supposed to be it becomes more elongated from front to back giving rise to more serious condition like High myopia. In this condition not only, the distant vision is very difficult, but also there are increased chances of more serious conditions like retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataract etc.²

If the process of eyeball getting longer is quicker than the usual then this severe type of myopia is called as Pathological or Degenerative or Malignant myopia. It is genetically inherited disorder and people get affected by it in their teens or early adulthood and get far worse in adulthood.²

All these types of myopia can be diagnosed by ophthalmic or eye examination and your doctor may prescribe a suitable treatment modality to you.

These refractive errors can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery.

A regular eye check up is a must to diagnose the condition early and prevent complications. Children having myopic parents have high chances of developing myopia. So, parents need to be watchful and get eye examination of their children early. It is recommended that parents should get first eye check-up of their babies done before 1 year and more so if there is a family history of vision problem.³

Though there is no cure for myopia adopting some steps may support your eye health. Limit the screen time, take screen breaks to relax your eye muscles, encourage children to play outdoor games, don’t read or work in dim light, have regular eye check- up. Atropine eye drops can slow down progression so those also can be prescribed by your doctor.²  Food rich in vitamin A and C can be helpful to take care of your eyes.⁴

Do take care of your eyes with regular exercise, diet, healthy habits and regular eye check up from the doctor