Eye Myopia or short-sightedness has the medical term myopia. This condition causes you difficulty look thing long distance.
The reflected light from an object enters the eye through the cornea, and is then focused by the eyepiece onto the retina. In a normal eye, the lens and cornea refract incoming light so that the image of the object is focused on the retina. Whereas in the minus eye, the incoming light is not focused on the retina, but far in front of it. This can be caused by the cornea being too convex or the eyeball being too long. So if you have minus eyes, when you see objects from a distance, objects will look out of focus.
The severity of the minus eye is indicated by the diopter size (D). Based on the severity, minus eyes are divided into three, namely low myopia (minus 0.5D to minus 3D), moderate (minus 3D to 6D), and severe (above 6D).
Minus Eye Symptoms
Pay attention to some of the minus eye symptoms below. If you experience some of these symptoms, you may need to have your eyes checked by a doctor.
- Difficulty seeing things from a distance but clearly seeing up close
- Squinting when you see something
- Difficulty seeing when driving a vehicle
- Need to sit close to the blackboard (myopia in children) to see clearly
- When watching television, you have to be close so you can see clearly
- Eyes feel tense
- Eyes feel tired
- Headache
- Frequently rubbing eyes
- Eyes blink often
When Should You Start Having Your Eyes Checked?
As you age, the sharpness of your eyes will decrease. If you experience any of the above symptoms, or have a possible eye damage, we recommend that you have your eyes checked.
If there are no visual complaints, adults are still recommended to have regular eye examinations starting at the age of 40 years. At the age of 40 to 54 years, eye examinations can be done every two to four years. At the age of 55-64 years, every one to three years. And at the age of 65 years and over, the examination can be done every one or two years.
In children, it's a good idea to start having eye exams before school. When you start school, do it regularly every one or two years.
Minus Eye Therapy
If it turns out that your eyes are already experiencing minus eye disorders, then you can do some therapy such as using glasses or contact lenses. Glasses are one of the easiest and safest ways to correct minus eye. However, in glasses for severe minus, vision at the edges can occur vision distortion. Contact lenses do not have these drawbacks, but their maintenance is relatively more complicated than glasses.
For those of you who want permanent eye correction, you can choose the path of surgery. There are several surgical options that you can do, such as LASIK surgery, LASEK surgery, and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). In addition, for people with moderate to severe myopia, an intraocular lens (IOL) implant can be an option.
Like surgery, minus eye therapy through surgery also has side effects or complications that may occur. Among other things, the eye becomes dry, infection, and scar tissue develops on the cornea.
Minus Eye Complications
Damage to the eye can interfere with daily activities and reduce the quality of life. If you force driving in a minus eye condition without wearing glasses, it will certainly endanger your safety.
Forcing to see with minus eye conditions can also make your eyes tense because they are forced to see or focus on objects. This condition can also cause headaches.
Severe minus eye will increase the risk of serious eye diseases, including retinal detachment (retinal detachment). Glaucoma and cataracts can also occur.
How to Maintain Eye Health
Minus eye cannot be prevented, but its development can be slowed down. Take care of your eye health by doing the following:
- Eat healthy food. It is common knowledge that eating healthy foods can keep the body's organs healthy, including the eyes. Start multiplying the consumption of fruits and vegetables. In addition to carrots, it turns out that egg yolks and milk also contain lots of vitamin A which is useful for eye health. Fish that are rich in omega 3, such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel, are also good for eye health
- Avoid smoking. Smoking is not good for health and can also affect eye health.
- Use sunglasses with UV protector. Do not underestimate the sun, because in addition to making the skin darker, the sun can also interfere with eye health. Wear sunglasses that have UV protection to maintain eye health.
- Rest your eyes regularly. When you are working on a computer or while reading for long periods of time, take regular breaks by looking into the distance.
The sense of sight is an important part of carrying out daily activities. Also do regular checkups to find out the condition of your eyes and immediately correct your eye abnormalities.