Being short sighted is also commonly known as myopia. This when you are able to see clearly up close but struggle to see clearly in the distance.

With most cases of myopia glasses are needed full time to be able to see clearly and comfortably in the distance.

What causes short sightedness?
There are 2 different types of myopia, refractive myopia or axial myopia.

Refractive myopia is where the power of the eye is too strong, meaning the images that pass through the eye don’t fall on the retina where they need to fall to be seen clearly.
Instead the images fall in front of the retina meaning they are blurry, making you short sighted.

Axial Myopia is when the power of the eye is fine, but the eye is too long meaning that the images fall before the retina, again cause objects in the distance to be blurry.

Below shows where the images fall with myopia in comparison to a normal eye.

Most people with myopia have a combination of to two different types to give them their prescription.

What are the treatments available for short sightedness?
Almost all cases of myopia can be corrected with the use of glasses or contact lenses.

Another more permanent way of correcting myopia is laser eye surgery. In this case the surgeon will use a laser to reshape the surface of the eye to make the light fall onto the retina, allowing the patient to see clearly without the use of glasses or contact lenses.

If you have any concerns about your eye health or if you think that someone you know may suffer from short sightedness/myopia then feel free to get in contact and arrange an appointment at your nearest Opticare Opticians practice.

Ayrshire
01475 673985
opticarelargs@gmail.com

Glasgow
0141 332 8444
opticareglasgow@gmail.com