Sorry, this entry is only available in English.
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Sorry, this entry is only available in English.
Glaucoma or the “silent thief of sight” appears to occur more often in those who have high myopia. Unfortunately, as glaucoma barely shows symptoms until its later stages, it can be very hard to address swiftly.
Curiously enough, glaucoma detection also appears to be more difficult in those with high myopia.
Cataracts occur when the clear lens of the eye develops a clouded area obstructing vision. We do not yet know why cataracts tend to appear earlier in those with high myopia, there are a number of theories being proposed.
For example, some suggest that it may be because the elongated eyeballs of high-myopics make nutrient delivery more difficult to the lenses.
Retinal tears happen when the retina or light-sensitive tissue in the eye is broken. High myopia makes that more likely because the retina is stretched more thinly, making them weaker and more prone to tearing.
This happens when the retina separates from the wall of the eye. This ties in with retinal tears – because the retina is thinner and more prone to being torn, when it goes untreated or unnoticed, then retinal detachments ensue.
Another outcome of an abnormally elongated eye is the layers of the retina end up getting stretched past the limits of their elasticity. At some point, they may even stretch and split along a critical point: the macula.
The macula is at the very rear of the eye and is basically responsible for processing our direct and central vision. When it’s damaged, serious vision impairment can occur.
Interestingly, maculopathy is among the conditions where the risk of occurrence rises most drastically in response to increased myopia. Certain conditions in maculopathy can be treated and controlled, but some have a tendency to progress as you age.
Once you reach adulthood, myopia usually stops progressing, and there are no precise measures that can stop you from developing complications of myopia.
Therefore, it is important to arrest the progression of myopia when you are still young.
Parents can do this by ensuring that their children spend more time outdoors and in the open. When doing work, take regular breaks in between, and remind the child to keep the reading material at a good arm’s length away from the eyes. In addition, avoid reading in the dark or when lying down.
For children who have rapidly progressing myopia, there are options to slow this process down – please discuss this with your ophthalmologist.
Examples of strategies you can try would be the following:
These are more or less in line with our other tips for maintaining good eyesight, which you can read here
High myopia can be a troublesome eye ailment, not least because it seems to increase the risk of developing other vision problems. However, there are ways to try and reduce the odds of that happening.
If you want to check whether or not your nearsightedness qualifies as high myopia, call us or book an appointment for an eye screening with us today. We can provide guidance on what treatments or measures are available to you so that you can mitigate the risks of high myopia. Enquire now!
