Myopia usually has very characteristic signs and symptoms.

The classical symptoms of myopia include include the following:

• Blurred far vision
• Headache
• Strain on the eyes
• Intermittent divergent squint (exodeviation of the eyes)
• Constant divergent squint
• Fatigue upon trying to focus on a nearby object for long
• Normal near vision

The signs of myopia include the following:

• Prominent eyeballs
• Increased depth of the anterior chamber of eye upon fundoscopy, normal in simple myopia
• Degenerative changes seen in case of pathological myopia
• Increased axial length

• Falling

  Astigmatism is a condition in which an abnormal curvature of the cornea can cause two focal points to fall in two different locations, making objects up close and at a distance appear blurry. [childrenshospital.org]

  When the corneal lens focuses on a distant object, the image falls short of the retina and appears blurred. [nytimes.com]

  When it comes to anatomy, the eyeball is lengthened, which causes the improper refraction of light rays falling into the eyeball and focusing of the rays before instead of on the retina. More information on this defect can be found here [bateseyeexercises.com]

  Some people with myopia may find that they are restricted from some occupations (for example, police officers or fire fighters), due to their inability to see properly if their glasses fall off. In these cases, laser surgery may be useful. [opto.ca]

• Weakness

  A weak protective effect of outdoor activity on myopia in Chinese rural children was observed. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Early attempts to protect the macula from the damaging effects of stretching, involved surgical procedures to reinforce the thinned weak sclera at the back of the eye. [mvrf.org]

  Rare cases had symptoms of lateral rectus weakness for more than 2 months. [doi.org]

• Surgical Procedure

  The basic buckling surgical procedure has now been modified for the optimal treatment of this new indication– myopic macular schisis. [mvrf.org]

  There are also surgical procedures (e.g. LASIK) to improve or correct myopia. However, surgical procedures like LASIK only serve to correct refractive errors and are only for adults. [healthhub.sg]

  Specialized contact lenses that actually reshape the curvature of the eye may lessen the symptoms of myopia, or surgical procedures may reshape the cornea. If myopia is stress-related, vision therapy may help correct the problem. [study.com]

• Blurred Vision

  If no glasses was a cure, there should be no blurred vision to begin with. But people do develop blurred vision due to myopia. [myopiaprevention.org]

  “Any blurred vision will make myopia worse,” he says. Demolishing assumptions Adler thinks this is a key conclusion that demolishes previous assumptions and could help optometrists develop better treatments in the future. [newscientist.com]

  However, an allergic reaction and blurred vision caused by a transient myopic change were noted after she received Relenza treatment. Relenza-induced acute transient myopia had never been reported. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  “This means that one out of three school-age children has blurred vision if they do not wear eyeglasses. This is very high and alarming,” he said in a report. [interaksyon.com]

• Visual Impairment

  Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in an elderly Chinese population in Taiwan: the Shihpai Eye Study. Ophthalmology 2004; 111 : 62–69. 22. Van Newkirj MR. The Hong Kong vision study: a pilot assessment of visual impairment in adults. [doi.org]

  The Visual Impairment Project is a population-based prevalence study of eye disease in which both urban and rural adult populations were examined. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Mechanical stretching and thinning of the choroids may lead to the development of irreversible degenerative changes in the eyeball and visual impairment. [web.archive.org]

  They include parents of visually impaired children, visually impaired children themselves, Community Paediatricians, Ophthalmologists, Educationalists and Psychologists. [ssc.education.ed.ac.uk]

• Visual Impairment

  Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in an elderly Chinese population in Taiwan: the Shihpai Eye Study. Ophthalmology 2004; 111 : 62–69. 22. Van Newkirj MR. The Hong Kong vision study: a pilot assessment of visual impairment in adults. [doi.org]

  The Visual Impairment Project is a population-based prevalence study of eye disease in which both urban and rural adult populations were examined. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Mechanical stretching and thinning of the choroids may lead to the development of irreversible degenerative changes in the eyeball and visual impairment. [web.archive.org]

  They include parents of visually impaired children, visually impaired children themselves, Community Paediatricians, Ophthalmologists, Educationalists and Psychologists. [ssc.education.ed.ac.uk]

• Dry Eyes

  Because Ortho K contact lenses are not worn during the day, they can also be an effective dry eye treatment. Dry eye is a problem that is often caused by traditional contact lenses and can cause itching and irritation. [igolenses.co.uk]

  Ten patients (15 eyes) reported symptoms related to dry eye and the vision of 21 patients (17 eyes) fluctuated during the first month. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  Common complications that arise after surgical correction of Myopia are dry eyes, itching eyes and corneal scarring [lybrate.com]

  Children are less likely to have other side-effects like dry eye or allergy. As such, low-dose (0.01%) atropine is safer and it is a more comfortable eyedrop to use than higher-dose atropine (1%, for example). [snec.com.sg]

  Visian ICL is the most commonly performed phakic IOL in the world, and is most appropriate for myopes above -6.00 D, severe dry eye or ocular surface disease, thin or abnormal corneas and patients with very precise visual needs. [doughertylaservision.com]

• Eye Pain

  A common use for atropine these days is to reduce eye pain associated with certain types of uveitis. [allaboutvision.com]

  Many of these patients present to the ophthalmologist relating episodes of blurry vision, and sometimes eye pain, after exercise. [web.archive.org]

• Headache

  Objects that are farther than a few inches or a few feet away look blurry and trying to focus on them can cause fatigue, excessive eyestrain, headaches and squinting. [vsp.com]

  Children may also rub their eyes regularly or complain about headaches. [optegra.com]

  Nearsightedness: Myopia Symptoms Some of the signs and symptoms of myopia include: eyestrain, headaches, squinting to see properly, and difficulty seeing objects far away, such as road signs or a blackboard at school. [aao.org]

  Headaches. Fatigue feeling when playing sports or driving. When it comes to your children, however, there are some other signs you need to look out for yourself, as they probably won't tell you about the myopia symptoms as they won't be aware. [focusclinics.com]

The diagnostic interventions include:

• Patient’s history
• Eye examination for visual acuity by Snellen’s test chart
• A-scan ultrasonography
• Retinoscopy
• Fundoscopy

Conservative treatment

• Use of glasses
• Contact lenses
• Concave lenses
• Pinhole glasses for low level myopia

Surgical interventions

• Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK): This is the refractive surgery in which a layer of corneal epithelium in the center of cornea is removed with the help of excimer laser so as to flatten the curvature of cornea to reduce its refractive power [2] [3].
• Radial keratotomy (RK): In this procedure, the curvature of the cornea is reduced by giving incisions in the peripheral part of cornea with the help of a diamond knife [4]. This results in decrease in the refractive power of cornea.
• Laser-assisted in situ Keratomileusis (LASIK): It is currently the most commonly applied procedure. An epithelial flap is reflected with the help of keratotome; laser is applied and the flap is repositioned [5] [6].
• Laser epithelial Keratomileusis (LASEK): In LASEK, the epithelium is detached at the level of basement membrane in this procedure. After the application of laser, the flap is re-positioned. It is a relatively painless method and causes rapid recovery [7] [8].
• Clear lens extraction: This is done to correct the error of more than 20 diopters.
• Phakic posterior chamber lens implant: This consists of insertion of crystalline lens behind the iris [9].

Low or even moderate level myopia can be corrected with the use of glasses and corrective lenses. The prognosis is usually very good and the patients have a very good quality of life. Degenerative changes in pathological myopia can lead to blindness in the long term.

Myopia can be congenital or acquired. The anatomical changes contributing in the etiology of myopia include the following [1]:

Increase in axial length of the eye

The myopic eyeball is enlarged. The axial length of the eyeball, therefore, enhances. The light rays entering the eye fall short and the image fails to form on the retina and forms, instead, at some point proximal to the retina, resulting in blurring of vision.

Abnormal curvature of lens or cornea or both

The curvature is increased which causes abnormal refraction of the light rays entering the eye and hence, the image fails to form on retina.

Abnormal refractive index of the lens

Change in the refractive index of the lens, as in nuclear sclerosis, can lead to myopia.

Positional error

The lens may be displaced anteriorly, resulting in abnormal focusing of the light rays.

Children and old people are affected more. A familial tendency to myopia has been found. A lot of factors affect the prevalence of myopia including, age, sex, race and occupation.

As the light rays enter the eye of myopic person, they undergo abnormal refraction due to changes in the refractive power of various refractive media in the eye, i.e. the cornea or lens. The axial length of eye is also increased. Due to the combination of these factors, the light rays focus at a point proximal to retina and hence, image forms before the retina. The resultant image of the distant objects, is therefore, blurred.

Degenerative changes in the sclera also contribute in the development of myopia. Due to these changes, the sclera fails to withstand the normal intraocular pressure. Further changes in the retina and choroid include the following:

• Myopic crescent formation
• Peripapillary atrophy
• Super traction crescent formation
• Breaks in Bruch’s Membrane (lacquer cracks)
• Subretinal neovascularization
• Forster Fuch’s spots
• Posterior staphyloma
• Degenerative changes in the vitreous humor
• Retinal detachment
• Macular hemorrhages
• Glaucoma

• Regular eye checkup must be ensured.
• Avoid exposure to sunlight. Use protective sunglasses.
• Foods with plenty of vitamin A and beta carotenes like carrots should be incorporated in diet.
• While reading and writing, ensure good light exposure.
• Don’t watch TV at a close range. Proper distance should be maintained while watching TV.
• Dim the brightness of the computers and mobile phones’ display.
• Avoid reading while lying down and in a moving vehicle.
• Symptoms of blurry vision must be recognized at once and eye physician should be consulted promptly.
• Avoid smoking.
• Use correction lenses and glasses regularly for improvement of vision.
• Visual disturbances can be associated with other diseases such as diabetes [10]. It is important to control and treat the underlying cause.

Myopia, also commonly known as short sightedness or near sightedness, refers to the inability of eye to focus the incoming light of rays on the retina when the accommodative power of the eye is at rest. Hence a myopic person faces difficulty seeing the far objects. The near objects, however, can be clearly visualized.

Myopia is a common refractive error that is prevalent in people beyond 40 years of age. Mild degree of myopia is called “low myopia” whereas a higher degree of myopia is commonly called ‘high myopia”.

Myopia is he condition in which the individual is unable to visualize the far objects properly. He can see near objects perfectly. Various changes in the structure of the eyeball lead to this condition. If myopia is of low level, it can be corrected by regular use of glasses and contact lenses. If myopia is too high, surgical methods can be used for the correction of this condition. With proper care, myopia can be prevented in the early age.

1. Wilson A, Woo G. A review of the prevalence and causes of myopia. Singapore medical journal. Oct 1989;30(5):479-484.
2. Eggink CA, Deutman AF, Meurs PJ, Schilt PD, de Boo TM, Lemmens WA. [Results of photorefractive keratectomy using the excimer laser in the treatment of myopia; 1-year follow-up]. Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde. Nov 18 1995;139(46):2369-2375.
3. Van Gelder RN, Steger-May K, Yang SH, Rattanatam T, Pepose JS. Comparison of photorefractive keratectomy, astigmatic PRK, laser in situ keratomileusis, and astigmatic LASIK in the treatment of myopia. Journal of cataract and refractive surgery. Mar 2002;28(3):462-476.
4. Binder PS. Radial keratotomy and excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy for the correction of myopia. Journal of refractive and corneal surgery. Jul-Aug 1994;10(4):443-464.
5. Vukosavljevic M, Milivojevic M, Resan M, Cerovic V. [Laser in situ keratomyleusis (LASIK) for correction of myopia and hypermetropia--our one year experience]. Vojnosanitetski pregled. Military-medical and pharmaceutical review. Dec 2009;66(12):979-984.
6. Teus MA, de Benito-Llopis L, Sanchez-Pina JM. LASEK versus LASIK for the correction of moderate myopia. Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry. Jul 2007;84(7):605-610.
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8. Lohmann CP, Winkler Von Mohrenfels C, Gabler B, Hermann W, Muller M. [Excimer laser subepithelial ablation (ELSA) or laser epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) - a new kerato-refractive procedure for myopia. Surgical technique and first clinical results on 24 eyes and 3 months follow-up]. Klinische Monatsblatter fur Augenheilkunde. Jan-Feb 2002;219(1-2):26-32.
9. Zaldivar R, Ricur G, Oscherow S. The phakic intraocular lens implant: in-depth focus on posterior chamber phakic IOLs. Current opinion in ophthalmology. Feb 2000;11(1):22-34.
10. Mantyjarvi M. Myopia and diabetes. A review. Acta ophthalmologica. Supplement. 1988;185:82-85.