Myopia - TREATING SHORTSIGHTEDNESS IN BIRMINGHAM
Myopia: "I see nearby but not far away"
You are “short-sighted” (also known as myopia). Distant objects are focussed in front of your retina because your eye is too long & the focusing power of your eye is too strong.
Wearing minus (-) glasses moves the focal plane backwards which focuses the image you’re looking at on your retina.
If you’re short-sighted your eyes look smaller through your glasses & everything you look at will also look smaller than when you are wearing contact lenses.
Myopia explained in 30 seconds
"This is the best thing I've ever done and you were all so brilliant, caring and professional. Thank you. If you are reading this and are undecided - GO FOR IT! You couldn't be in better hands!"
Myopia: The problem & the treatment
Fifty years ago few people were short-sighted, but the number of people with myopia (short-sightedness) is increasing. There are currently about 900 million myopic people in the world. Myopia usually starts developing between the ages of eight & 12. Your eyes grow during childhood & short-sightedness can develop until they’re fully grown. Myopia is unlikely to develop after that, so it usually occurs before the age of 20. Short-sightedness is very common.
A quarter of adults & 50% of teenagers in the UK are myopic. And children often don’t realise they are short-sighted. So look out for signs that your child is short-sighted including squinting or rubbiing their eyes, sitting close to the TV or having trouble seeing the blackboard or whiteboard at school.
The answer is complex, but the more time children spend outdoors, the less likely they are to develop myopia. More sunshine, less time watching TV, looking at computers, mobile phones & reading reduces myopia. But our genes are also important & we may pass our myopia on to our children.
Myopia can be corrected with laser & lens surgery and millions of people are seeing well without glasses now. But preventing myopia is better than correcting it, so encourage children to play outside more & spend less time on their phones.
Focusing power of eyes is measured in dioptres (D). The higher the number, the more short-sighted you are. Mild short-sightedness scores up to 3.00D. If you’re mildly short-sighted you may not need glasses or contact lenses for treatment of your blurred vision all the time although they do help. Vision correction surgery such as LASIK can also correct myopia.
Moderate myopia is 3.00D to 6.00D & you won’t be able to get by without glasses or contact lenses. Laser eye surgery is a also a good solution for correcting moderate myopia. And if you are over the age of 50 lens replacement surgery may be a better solution.
High myopia is 6.00D or over. High myopia carries a higher risk of other eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma & retinal problems. Reducing the time children spend indoors & on their phones reduces the risk of them developing high myopia. Visian ICL surgery is an excellent treatment for high myopia & if you are over the age of 50 then lens replacement surgery is usually the best surgery option.
Do you suffer from Myopia?
Mark Wevill is an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) & eye surgeon who has specialised in doing laser & lens vision correction. He has been correcting vision in eye clinics in Birmingham & the West Midlands since 2002. These treatments don’t cure myopia but they improve the distance vision of short-sighted people. The price of correcting your myopia depends on the treatment that’s best for you & we’ll find an affordable way to discover what you’ve been missing.
