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High myopia
What is high myopia?
High myopia, also known as myopia magna or pathological myopia, occurs if you have more than 6-8 dioptres. It is much less frequent than simple myopia (link) and, beyond the focusing problem it entails, it can trigger different types of eye complications. This is due to the greater elongation of the myopic eye, which, in the case of high myopia, can exceed 28 millimetres. As a result of this excessive growth of the eyeball – which usually begins in childhood and continues into adulthood –, the inner layers of the eye, such as the retina, are stretched and become increasingly thin and fragile.
Thus, if you have high myopia, it is very important that you see the ophthalmologist on a regular basis, both to follow the evolution of the refractive defect and provide you with the appropriate correction, as well as to detect and treat associated eye injuries and damage early
The higher the number of dioptres, the blurrier your distance vision will be. In addition, some of the complications that can be triggered by high myopia in the fundus can cause different visual symptoms that should not be overlooked and need to be checked.
Although the exact causes are not known, high myopia has a genetic component; thus, there is usually a family history.
In turn, having a high number of dioptres increases the risk for vision and, for example, increases the probability of suffering a retinal detachment by more than 10 times. Other complications in the fundus can be macular hole, macular epiretinal membrane or myopic macular degeneration – which affect central vision –, as well as haemorrhages, alterations in the vitreous gel, etc.
High myopia is also related to early cataracts (1 in 5 young patients who develop them are highly myopic) and especially complex cases of glaucoma. Moreover, it also increases the propensity for strabismus to appear.
Among the most common treatments for high myopia are glasses and contact lenses, although advances in refractive surgery allow us to treat high prescriptions safely and effectively nowadays. Above 6-8 dioptres, we usually opt for the implantation of intraocular lenses, whereas, at the Miranza clinics, we will advise you on the most suitable ones for you.
However, even if we correct the refractive error surgically, the eye is still predisposed to possible complications. For expert handling, we also have ophthalmologists specialising in retina, cataracts, glaucoma and strabismus.
