Myopia

Myopia is a refractive defect of the eye in which light focuses in front of the retina. Those with myopia are often described as nearsighted or short-sighted in that they typically can see nearby objects clearly but distant objects appear blurred. The opposite of myopia is hyperopia or "farsightedness".

Related Topics:
Eye - Retina - See - Hyperopia

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Myopia is the most common eyesight problem in the world. About one quarter of the adult population in the United States has myopia. In places like Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, as many as one in three or one in two of the adult population is myopic. It is thought that this is due to the focus on academics in these countries.

Related Topics:
United States - Japan - Singapore - Taiwan

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Myopia is measured in diopters; specifically, the strength of the corrective lens that must be used to enable the eye to focus distant images correctly on the retina. Myopia of 6.00 diopters or greater is considered high, or severe, myopia. People with high myopia are at greater risk of more acute eye problems such as retinal detachment or glaucoma. They are also more likely to experience floaters.

Related Topics:
Diopter - Retinal detachment - Glaucoma - Floater

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Mainstream ophthalmologists and optometrists most commonly correct myopia through the use of corrective lenses, such as glasses or contact lenses. It may also be corrected by refractive surgery, such as LASIK. The corrective lenses have a negative dioptric value (i.e. are concave) which compensates for the excessive positive diopters of the myopic eye.

Related Topics:
Ophthalmologist - Optometrist - Corrective lens - Glasses - Contact lens - Refractive surgery - LASIK

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