Lacson: Born nearsighted

WHEN I was about 10 years old, I had difficulties reading what was being written in the black board. Often times, I had to squirm my face and struggle just to be able to see what’s in front of me. I did not really understand what was going on, and I can remember quite a few times when I would stare at the façade of our house and see a blurred and distorted version of it. Then, at a later time of those mornings, I would experience terrible headaches that would turn into nausea and vomiting. After suffering from all these, I finally learned that I had myopia.

According to the US National Eye Institute, myopia is “a common type of refractive error where close objects appear clearly, but distant objects appear blurry.” Commonly known as nearsightedness, it is said to be a result of having a cornea that is “too curved for the length of the eyeball or a lens that is too thick.” Ophthalmologists and eye experts normally would say that myopia is hereditary, and in my case, I got it from my father who also has myopia.

If you are suffering all or any of the symptoms I’ve mentioned above, then it is best for you to check for myopia by visiting the nearest eye clinic and subject yourself to a visual eye test using a phoropter. During this medical evaluation, the doctor will try on placing and combining lenses until you will be able to see and read clearly.

There are several ways to treat this refractive error and these include the prescription of eyeglasses, contact lenses, or refractive surgeries such as LASIK and PRK. LASIK and PRK surgeries aim to correct the refractive error by reshaping the cornea by removing tissues from it. The main difference between these two common procedures is that in LASIK, the surface of the cornea is cut and folded back to remove tissues from the inner layer of the cornea while in PRK, a thin layer from the surface of the cornea is removed. In both surgeries, there is a limit on the amount of tissue which can be removed and this in turn equates to the amount of myopia or nearsightedness that can be rectified.

Having myopia can really be distracting and debilitating at most times. However, given the appropriate intervention and corrective measures, people born or who have acquired this defect can overcome this and be able to enjoy life as normally possible.

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