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Myopia
Myopia is a refraction defect that leads to poor visual acuity of objects located at long distances. This is because sunlight entering the eye focuses in front of the retina instead of on it, which is required to see clearly, thus causing blurriness.
If you have this problem, it might be because your eye is longer or larger than usual, or because the cornea is overly curved, which means the focal length of the lens will be too short.
In cases of high myopia, which is above 6-8 dioptres, the elongation of the eyeball means that the inner layers of the eye are stretched and weakened. This can lead to different types of complication, so it is important to regularly see the ophthalmologist to closely control the evolution of your myopia and check your eye health.
If you have myopia, you will notice that you see objects closest to you more clearly, whereas those further away will be blurry (e.g. traffic signs, shop signs, bus numbers or the faces of people walking down the street).
As a result, you might squint in an attempt to see better and, as a result of ocular overstrain, could experience frequent headaches or dizziness.
Myopia often increases in children and adolescents, and tends to normally stabilise and no longer worsen at the age of around 20.
Myopia affects one quarter of the population and its main cause is genetic, with a clear hereditary factor. This explains why, if you have children, they are more likely to be myopic because this refractive defect is equally common during childhood.
In fact over recent years, myopia has been on the rise among children and adolescents, almost half of whom in Spain are thought to be myopic, according to recent studies. Modern lifestyles play a significant role in this rise, due partly to the intensive use of near vision in our everyday lives. This is due to the significant use of screens (mobiles, tablets, computers, etc.) and to the lack of outdoor activity.
By not “activating” distance vision enough and working to often at short distances could affect the eye’s capacity to accommodate or focus, leading to low or functional myopia. In order to minimise this effect, we recommend taking regular eyesight breaks when working, studying or having fun at home, looking up from whatever you are concentrating on and changing focus (looking at the back of the room, through a window, etc.)
Glasses and contact lenses correct myopia, but refractive surgery is an increasingly popular solution for those who want to depend on them less. Providing a personalised assessment based on a full, prior study is essential in being able to offer the best surgical indications and the most satisfactory results at the Miranza clinics.
