MYOPIA CONTROL WHAT IS MYOPIA?

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a common refractive vision disorder that affects a sizable portion of the population. Myopia describes the vision issues that occur when the eyeball lengthens beyond a normal size. In basic terms, vision relies on light to form images in the retina, which communicates the image to the brain. In people with myopia, images of faraway objects form before they reach the retina, causing them to appear blurry.

The eyeball naturally grows during human development, so the progression of myopia is often the most rapid between the ages of 7 and 16. Eyeball shape tends to stabilize as you reach your 20s. 30% of teenagers experience nearsightedness, as well as 90% of the Asian population at large.

The more severe a case of myopia is, the higher the prescription will need to be to allow a patient to see clearly. Different strategies of myopia control ensure that your prescription stays low, which has been shown to prevent eye diseases later in life, including macular degeneration, glaucoma, and retinal detachment.

Severe myopia may also cause patients to continue to experience nearsightedness into their adult life. Myopia control minimizes eyeball lengthening during youth, decreasing the odds that the patient will need additional correction as their eyeball shape stabilizes.

Laser corrective eye surgery isn’t offered until a patient’s eyes develop completely, so children and teenagers must use glasses, contacts, and other myopia control strategies until they’re 18. If Myopia continues into adulthood, the team at Golden Vision can offer LASIK co-management, where we screen patients to ensure that they’re a candidate for the surgery and find qualified surgeons to carry it out.