Generally, myopia can be easily referred to as nearsightedness. Myopia is a common, progressive visual condition that causes poor distance vision. As well as weakening vision, myopia can changes the actual structure of the eye (e.g. flattening the front surface of the eye (cornea), and/or stretch the axial elongation).

Now, you may be curious to know what physical conditions can trigger myopia. Let’s discuss these points.

Physical conditions that instigate myopia

Fundamentally, with the growth of the eyes comes the coefficient of vulnerability. This is when myopia becomes more likely to affect you. In the condition where the eyes exceed the standard shape of the eye in the course of its growth, this could prompt the location of the focal point of the eye at the retina’s front. This would lead to myopia.

Myopia is hereditary. In the case where your parents (either one or the two parents) have myopia, then the likelihood of myopia affecting you increases. In other cases of myopia occurrence, the cornea could be guilty. The cornea is basically transparent, retaining a peculiar curve so as the focus precisely hits your retina. Thus, in the circumstance where the retina’s curve happens to be excessively sharp or flat, the consequence could be the focus shifting away from the retina’s focal point. This situation hampers the clarity of your vision prompting myopia.

Common varieties of myopia

Moving on from hereditary factors, there are very rare instances where myopia can be caused by habitually extended close focus of the eye on electronic devices like your smartphone.

Also, tasks that require you to fixate your focus for a sustained period of time on small print materials can still be included. There is also the variant of “Night myopia“. This, as the term suggests, is when one suffers distorted vision at night. This is because there is the inadequacy of light for the eyes to sufficiently focus on. Night myopia can also occur when the eye is getting excessive amounts of light from the side as against the supposed front penetration of light.

There is also a transient situation known as “false myopia”. This occurs when you deeply focus on a text  for a reasonably long period. When you finally cut your fixation and look away to far objects, you notice your vision becomes quite hazy. Most times, after you rest, this condition ceases. It is yet important to point out that the symptoms of myopia differ among individuals on the basis of blood sugar levels and their susceptibility to diabetes.

How can you treat myopia

Correcting myopia is not hard to do. Prescription glasses or contact lens can get the job done. Sometimes, you can explore the option of refractive eye surgery.

However, this latter option is more suitable for cases of more severe myopia. Depending on the variety of myopia, you could have to wear glasses only when you need long-distance vision, or you may have to wear it every time. For mild myopia, your glasses prescription (which indicate the severity of the condition), would come after a minus. In the case where the myopia is more serious, the prescription would come after the minus.