Health & Fitness

Eyes: Nearsighted Vision

The medical term for nearsightedness is myopia. People who have nearsighted vision can see objects close to them, but objects that are far away, such as highway signs or billboards, will appear blurry. Myopia occurs because the light that enters the eye focuses in front of the retina instead of focusing on it. This is a result of an eyeball shape that is slightly longer than normal. Some children will experience this through growth stages, and the eyeball shape may even out with growth, resulting in improved vision.

Another cause of myopia may be too much stress put on the corneas from long hours of close up vision work. Some people with nearsighted vision may experience symptoms early on. These can include blurry vision of far away objects, eyestrain, headaches, fatigue, eye soreness and squinting. About 30 percent of Americans experience myopia, but many people are unaware of their condition and let it go untreated for too long.

In order to properly diagnosis nearsightedness, you must visit an eye doctor and undergo thorough eye exams. Usually, an exam is done with a standardized eye chart. The doctor will use a tool with mirrors to reflect the chart and cause the characters to appear far away. A patients ability to see is calculated by using fractions. For example, if the farthest distance a nearsighted patient can read clearly is 10 feet away, but a person with perfect vision can read the same line at 20 feet away, then the patients reading will be measured as 10/20.

Treatment for Nearsighted Vision
The most common corrective measures are prescription lenses, such as eyeglasses or contacts. For myopia, prescription lenses are measured in negative numbers. The stronger prescriptions have higher numbers. For example, a negative five prescription will be stronger than a negative three. Other treatments include various eye surgeries, such as Lasik, Refractive or CK. Alternative or natural eye care treatments are more commonly practiced lately as well, since they are less invasive and less expensive. These include eye exercises and nutritional improvements.