Where does myopia come from and how to treat it

What is myopia

Nearsightedness Nearsightedness is a condition in which a person has difficulty seeing objects in the distance. The further away the subject, the less clear it seems.

According to statistics, every fourth inhabitant of the Earth suffers from myopia: a growing global problem with sight-threatening complications. By 2050, every second Myopia will be nearsighted.

Myopia reduces the quality of life, spoils the state of health, and if it is not corrected, it can even lead to loss of vision. However, people do not always understand that something is wrong with their eyes.

How to recognize myopia

This defect may not be obvious. And for obvious reasons.

Some are born with myopia. For many, it progresses gradually. As a result, a person gets used to his peculiarity of vision, considers it to be the norm. And he does not even suspect that objects for a meter, two, seven can and should be clearly distinguishable. However, there are still symptoms by which you can recognize vision problems.

The medical name for myopia is myopia. This word comes from Myopia. Clinical practice guidelines from Greek roots meaning "squint" and "eye".

The desire to squint when trying to look at something is one of the most common signs of myopia.

Nearsightedness can also be suspected of Nearsightedness in someone who:

has trouble recognizing distant objects, such as road signs or shop signs;
literally buries his nose in a book or laptop screen while reading;
tries to sit closer to a TV, movie screen or blackboard;
gets tired quickly when driving or jogging on the streets, which require constant concentration of vision on new objects;
suffers from headaches that are caused by eye strain;
poor vision in the twilight or a darkened room (suffers from the so-called night blindness);
from time to time begins to blink frequently, and does it unconsciously;
rubs his eyes regularly.

When to see a doctor urgently

In rare cases, with myopia, a serious complication occurs - the retina exfoliates. This can threaten blindness.

Call an ambulance immediately if:

a lot of floating spots, dark or transparent, suddenly appeared before the eyes, and they do not disappear;
you see flashes of light in one or both eyes;
it was as if a shadow like a curtain had descended and froze over my eyes.

With retinal detachment, every second counts. Try to get help as quickly as possible.

Where does myopia come from?

It's all about the shape of the eye.

Ideally, it is designed so that light entering through the lens and the convex cornea that protects it is focused strictly on the retina. Thanks to this, we see a clear, bright picture.

If the cornea or lens is curved too steeply, light is focused in front of the retina. The same happens if the length of the eye (the distance between the lens and the retina) is too great. The focus in front of the retina leads to the formation of the so-called myopia light scattering circle on the retina itself. Clinical guidelines. As a result, the eye and brain do not receive clear information about the observed object, and the image looks blurry.

Myopia develops for various reasons that complement each other. Here are the most common ones.

1. Heredity

In some people, the eye from birth has an elongated shape or a too sharp bend of the lens or cornea. This characteristic is "wired" in the genes and can be passed from parent to child.

Currently installed Short-sightedness (myopia). Causes of over 40 genes associated with myopia.

Another variant of hereditary myopia is the weakness of the tissues of the eye. Such people are born with normal vision. However, their eyes easily change shape due to improper lifestyle, so they have a higher risk of getting myopia than others.

2. Hormonal changes

Most often, myopia begins to develop at the age of 7–12 Myopia - on the eve of puberty. Moreover, in girls, the first signs of visual impairment appear earlier than in boys.

In addition, pregnancy, diabetes and other conditions that are associated with changes in hormonal levels can worsen vision.

3. The habit of reading a lot or sitting in front of the screen

Short-sightedness (myopia) may appear. Causes, if a child or an adult focuses their gaze frequently and for a long time on nearby objects. This happens, for example, when reading, writing, the habit of spending time buried in gadgets.

In Russia, myopia is found Myopia. Clinical guidelines. in 6–8% of primary schoolchildren. Up to 25-30% of children become myopic by the senior grades.

4. Too few outdoor walks

Short-sightedness (myopia) data is available. Causes running and playing outside reduce the risk of developing myopia. And if the deformation of the eye is already there, then it progresses more slowly.

Scientists attribute this dependence to the fact that in the fresh air you do not have to focus on close objects, and the lighting is better.

5. Unbalanced diet

For example, the habit of eating junk food or sticking to severe diets. In such cases, the person receives less Myopia. Clinical Practice Guidelines vitamins and minerals that are essential for eye health.

6. Stress

Stressful situations can cause spasm of the Myopia muscles (Nearsightedness), which control the focus of the eyes. This leads to the fact that it is difficult for a person to "switch" vision from near objects to distant ones.

Why is myopia dangerous?

It's not just about the difficulty of seeing or distinguishing distant objects. Nearsightedness has a number of extremely unpleasant consequences of Nearsightedness.

Frequent headaches.
Decreased performance, learning difficulties.
Decreased security level. A short-sighted person may not see a tram rushing towards him or, for example, an important road sign.
Lachrymation, increased tendency to inflammation. This is due to the fact that the stretched tissue of the eyeball becomes thinner, it is easier to irritate them.
High risk of developing other vision problems: retinal detachment, cataracts, glaucoma, myopic maculopathy (this is a condition in which the central region of the retina is damaged). All this can lead to blindness.

How to treat myopia

Vision problems can be caused not only by myopia. Therefore, to begin with, it is important to make an accurate diagnosis. The ophthalmologist (ophthalmologist) will cope with this. He will examine your eyes, offer to pass some tests.

Test your visual acuity. To do this, you will be asked to name the letters shown on the diagnostic table a few meters from you.
Carry out keratometry. This is the name of the procedure by which the curvature of the corneal surface is measured.
Refines refraction. Refraction tells how exactly the cornea and lens refract the light passing through them. They examine it with the help of devices - a phoropter and a retinoscope (with this instrument the doctor will shine in the eyes).

If myopia is confirmed, it can be corrected by several methods.

1. Points

The ophthalmologist will help you choose glasses with special concave lenses. They refract light entering the eyes so that it is focused on the retina, not in front of it.

2. Contact lenses

Being on the cornea, the lens flattens its surface and reduces bending. In this way, the focused image can be shifted onto the retina.

3. Refractive surgery

This is the name of an operation in which the surgeon uses a laser beam to smoothen an excessively steep cornea. This can reduce myopia, but it does not necessarily eliminate it entirely.

4. Vision therapy

It is a way to improve vision for those whose myopia is caused by the stress of Myopia (Nearsightedness). The optometrist will tell you what exercises you need to do to relieve muscle spasm.

How to prevent or slow down myopia

It is impossible to guarantee that nearsightedness does not develop. But you can try to help the eyes resist deformation.

1. Eat healthy foods

A complete diet should include a lot of greens, vegetables, fruits. Eating fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as tuna and salmon, is also good for vision.

2. Be careful not to strain your eyes

If you are reading, working with a laptop or other gadgets, take breaks every 20 minutes and look at objects in the distance. For example, look out the window or at a colleague sitting at the opposite end of the office.

3. Control lighting

A well-lit workspace is another way to reduce eye strain.

4. Protect your eyes from UV radiation

When going out into the sun-drenched street, wear sunglasses.

5. Try to protect your eyes from injury and other damage

Wear safety goggles if you plan on jogging on a dusty street or mowing the lawn. Or, for example, you are going to paint a fence. Or work with any chemical product that emits toxic fumes (such as paints, solvents, insect repellents).

6. Quit smoking

Smoking is harmful to the body in general and to the eyes in particular.

7. Keep chronic illness under control

Diabetes, hypertension and other illnesses sometimes seriously impair vision. Be sure to talk to your doctor about this.

8. Get regular check-ups

Experts from the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommend Nearsightedness to have your eyes checked by an optometrist:

babies 6 months old;
children upon reaching 3 years of age;
before the first grade of school and then at least twice a year;
every 5-10 years at the age of 20-30;
every 2–3 years at the age of 30–54;
annually (or at least every 2 years) after 55 years.

This will allow you to detect problems with vision in time and relatively easily correct them so that myopia does not get worse.