Have you ever felt like this? You can't see things clearly from a distance, so you have to move closer to see them. Maybe it's not an excuse to get closer to someone, but it's because of nearsightedness!
Nearsightedness is a type of vision impairment that can occur in both children and adults, but it is most common in school-aged children or people under the age of 40. People with nearsightedness can see things clearly at close range, but things that are far away are blurry or indistinct. They may need to squint or close their eyes to see more clearly. In some cases, they may also experience headaches, eye strain, or fatigue due to constantly having to focus.
What Causes Nearsightedness?
Before we explain what causes nearsightedness, we need to understand how vision works. When light hits an object, it reflects back into our eyes through the lens. The cornea helps to refract the light, causing the focal point to fall on the retina. The retina has a layer of nerve cells that convert light signals into electrical signals that are sent to the brain. In people with normal vision, the cornea is the right curvature to refract the light and cause the focal point to fall on the retina, allowing them to see images clearly.
In people with nearsightedness, the cornea is too curved. When light hits the eye, it refracts more, or in some cases, the eyeball is too long. This causes the focal point to fall in front of the retina, making it difficult to see objects that are far away.
How to Correct Nearsightedness
There are several ways to correct nearsightedness, including glasses, contact lenses, and surgery. Glasses and contact lenses are the easiest and safest ways to correct nearsightedness. Even though they don't cure the condition, the lenses help to adjust the focal point so that it falls on the retina, making it possible to see things that are far away more clearly. Surgery can restore vision to normal, but it is not suitable for everyone, especially people with corneal diseases such as thin cornea, floppy eyelids, or age-related macular degeneration.
