Myopia is a vision disorder that occurs because light rays coming from objects located at a certain distance from the eye focus on a point anterior to the retina. In this way, since the rays do not converge on the retina itself, a defect in ocular refraction is generated.
Those who have myopia cannot correctly focus on elements that are far away . This causes the acuity of vision to be reduced, causing everything from eye irritation to headaches , as well as various kinds of discomfort.
The degree of myopia is expressed in diopters . This is the name given to the unit of power of a lens that is equivalent to the inverse of the focal length of one meter. Simple myopia is one that evolves up to approximately 24 years of age and its graduation is less than 6 diopters . Progressive or pathological myopia, on the other hand, has a graduation greater than 6 diopters and can cause various additional complications to the vision defect.
An individual with myopia greater than 6 diopters has a greater predisposition than the rest of the people to suffer from cataract , glaucoma , Fuchs spot or retinal detachment , for example. Therefore, when faced with a condition of this type, it is important to go to the ophthalmologist periodically to perform different exams.
Until now, medicine has largely accepted the idea that myopia is a hereditary disorder, largely because the children of nearsighted people have a high probability of developing it . Although this hypothesis is still important, in recent times scientists have begun to focus on other possible causes, such as environmental factors and habits related to the use of vision.
Given the massification of technology that took place with the arrival of the 21st century, today it is absolutely normal to spend hours looking at a screen closely: from small children to the elderly, every day we do different activities in front of a monitor, a mobile phone or a television. Incidentally, the body posture we use in these cases is not the most appropriate for our body. These habits are related to myopia, and that is why specialists try to promote changes in younger people.
Although it is not possible to get us to stop using the devices that offer us so many possibilities, from leisure to working from home, it would be enough to look at the screen from an appropriate distance (there are mathematical calculations to know which is the best according to its size) and do Breaks several times a day so your eyes can rest.
Unfortunately, many of the laboratory tests that are part of myopia research are carried out on animals. Through them it has been discovered that the eye lengthens to compensate for the blur caused by a negative lens. The mechanism behind this alteration is not precisely known, although it has also been demonstrated very precisely in humans.
Another possible explanation for the emergence of myopia is the combination of hereditary and environmental factors. In any case, even if we do not know its exact causes, we must take care of our eyesight to prevent the problems from increasing considerably.
Regarding the treatment of myopia, the most common is the use of divergent lenses . By placing contact lenses or glasses between the retina and the distant object, the focus defect is solved. Also, in some cases, laser surgery can be used to modify the dioptric value of the cornea.