Short-sightedness: Causes and Treatments

Short-sightedness: Causes and Treatments

Short-sightedness, or myopia, is a common eye condition that causes distant objects to appear blurred, while close objects can be seen clearly. If you think you or your child may be short-sighted, you should book an eye test at a local opticians. 

Causes of short-sightedness

Short-sightedness usually occurs when the eyes grow slightly too long.

This means that light doesn't focus on the light-sensitive tissue (retina) at the back of the eye properly. Instead, the light rays focus just in front of the retina, resulting in distant objects appearing blurred.

It's not clear exactly why this happens. But it often runs in families and has been linked to focusing on nearby objects, such as books and computers, for long periods during childhood.

Treatments for short-sightedness

Short-sightedness can usually be corrected effectively with a number of treatments.

The main treatments are:

• corrective lenses, such as glasses or contact lenses to help the eyes focus on distant objects
• laser eye surgery to alter the shape of the eye – this isn't usually available on the health service and shouldn't be carried out on children, whose eyes are still developing
• artificial lens implants – where a lens is permanently inserted into the eyes to help them focus correctly; these are also not usually available on the health service

Source:nidirect.gov.uk