Myopia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness or short-sightedness, is a refractive defect of the eye, where the person affected usually can see nearby objects clearly but distant objects appear blurred. The opposite of myopia is farsightedness or hyperopia.

Myopia is the most common eyesight problem in the world. About one quarter of the adult population in the United States has myopia. In places like Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, as many as one in three or one in two of the adult population is myopic.

Myopia is measured in diopters; specifically, the strength of the corrective lens that must be used to enable the eye to focus distant images correctly on the retina. Myopia of 6.00 diopters or greater is considered high, or severe, myopia. People with high myopia are at greater risk of more acute eye problems such as retinal detachment or glaucoma. They are also more likely to experience floaters.

Mainstream ophthalmologists and optometrists most commonly correct myopia through the use of corrective lenses, such as spectacles or contact lenses. It may also be corrected by refractive surgery, such as LASIK. The corrective lenses have a negative dioptric value (i.e. are concave) which compensates for the excessive positive diopters of the myopic eye.

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The Facts about Myopia

There have been questions asked in the specific cause of Myopia. Myopia or nearsightedness is the inability to focus clearly on objects that are far away from you. But when trying to look at an object close up, you can see it clearly. You are unable to see both clearly because the image is focused in front of the retina, instead of directly on it. This is because the eye is too long, from back to front, or because the cornea, the lens, may be too excessively curved.

When babies are born, their eyes focus the image behind the retina. Their sight is exactly the opposite of the myopic eye. As the infants grow, their vision usually normalizes between 5 and 8 years of age.

As parents, regardless of the age of the child, you are always concerned about whether your actions will some how hurt them. Your fear could be caused from something you intentionally do. For example, You want to make sure children have a well balanced diet, so that too much starch will not be the cause of Myopia. And the underlying fear may be, how much starch is too much? On the other hand, your fear might be based on something you don't do. And this might be just because you didn't know. For example, looking at small repetitive patterns for too long, as in reading, being the cause of Myopia. Lots of parents worry about their children's health and struggle with the fear of caring for their children. It is quite common, especially in new parents.

So wanting to be the very best parent, you investigate, learning as much as possible, in order to make good decisions. Reading research and study grants conducted by Universities are one such way to keep up to date on current health practices. If you want to know more about how parenting lifestyle choices may be the cause of myopia in children, read about "Could Something As Innocent As a Night-Light Be a Cause of Myopia in Your Child?" 2 specific studies discuss a possible underlying cause of Myopia.

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Dirk Wagner is the webmaster of http://www.allaboutmyopia.com. Visit the site for more informational articles and tips about lasik, myopia, astigmastism and similar eye diseases. He is also Author of the ebook "Cure Myopia Naturally" at http://www.curemyopianaturally.com.

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