Myopia is a common eye condition that occurs when your eyeball is too long or the cornea is too curved, causing objects in the distance to appear blurred or unfocused. 

 

The condition can begin to develop at puberty and gets progressively worse until the eye stops growing, however myopia can also occur at a very young age. It is believed that myopia affects roughly 1 in 3 people in the UK.

 

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SIGNS & SYMPTOMS

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• Headaches

• Eye strain 

• Squinting

• Sitting close to objects (TV or whiteboards)

• Rubbing eyes (more than usual)

 

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COMPLICATIONS OF MYOPIA

Untreated myopia in children, or a severe case in an adult, can lead to a number of related eye conditions.
These include:

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• Squint (Strabismus) – Eyes turn in separate directions.

• Lazy Eye (Amblyopia) – One eye doesn’t develop correctly.

• Glaucoma – Pressure inside your eyes increases.

• Cataracts – The lens becomes cloudy in patches.

• Retinal Detachment – The retina detaches from blood vessels (supplying nutrients & oxygen).

 

In severe cases of myopia, the stretching of the eyeball can lead to the retina tearing or becoming detached. Blood vessels can grow beneath the retina which can affect your vision, but detecting and treating it early can prevent vision loss. 

 

Myopia is normally treated by corrective lenses, such as glasses or contact lenses. However, laser eye surgery is growing in popularity (although not free on the NHS), and in cases where this does not work or is not possible, there are artificial lens implants – but this is a relatively new method.