Nearsightedness (Myopia)

Your eye operates in much the same way as a camera. Just as the lens of a camera focuses entering light on a piece of film to produce a sharp image, the lens of your eye focuses light on the retina to form a picture that is sent on to the brain. When a refractive error such as myopia is present, it means that your eye cannot focus the incoming light correctly on the retina. As the most common refractive error, myopia means the light reflected off of viewed objects is focused before it reaches the retina. This vision impairment may be the result of the anatomy of the eyeball itself or the fact that the cornea or the lens is excessively curved in relationship to the length of the eyeball.

As part of a routine eye exam, you will be evaluated for the presence of a refractive error. While wearing a pair of eyeglasses or contact lenses to this day remains an excellent way to correct myopia and enjoy clear, crisp vision, we might also suggest other options in care. In certain cases, we may recommend a prescription for Ortho-K contact lenses to change the shape of the cornea temporarily, or make a referral for a refractive procedure such as LASIK.