To know if you have myopia or astigmatism, you must first know what is the difference between these and the causes of them, therefore, myopia; It is when you cannot see from afar, but up close if you observe things clearly; and astigmatism is when the person has blurred and distorted vision, either for or near; That’s why today we are going to explain what are the causes of this eye condition.
What is myopia and astigmatism?
Apart from the definitions we mentioned above, we have other differences; myopia is produced because the light that comes from objects is formed in front of the retina instead of being directly on the retina, and instead in astigmatism, light does not focus on the retina uniformly or in a specific place but it does so at several points, Therefore myopia occurs, because the curvature of the cornea is very excessive; and in astigmatism the curvature of the cornea is irregular, so these are the differences between these.
What are the causes that produce myopia or astigmatism?
Myopia can be triggered from genetics, which means this if both parents suffer from sight, there is a possibility that the child also suffers from this eye condition, but this can also develop during their growth, adolescence so, if you notice that your child has vision problems such as seeing from afar, it is best to seek help from a professional; in order to give a more accurate diagnosis.
On the other hand, astigmatism can be present since we are born, which can be stable or worsen over time; The person who suffers from it tends to see blurred images, since the shape of the cornea is not the same as the normal one that is circular, the cornea of people with this disease is oval and light does not reach as it should.
What is real myopia and functional myopia?
There are two types of real or axillary myopia and functional myopia; Therefore, real myopia occurs because the length of the eyeball is excessive, usually occurs hereditarily and can appear from the time they are newborn, until 16 or 17 years of age, so it is important that you visit the ophthalmologist periodically, in order to do thorough examinations to prevent problems later.
Functional myopia; this type of myopia appears around 6 or 7 years of age, and grows until 25 years, is normally formed by overexertion or stress of the mink system, because the more work the person has performing tasks such as; Reading, being in front of a television or computer screen for a long time without adequate lighting, will increase the refractive error, so it is important to have good lighting in your workplace, wear anti-reflective glasses and protect your children’s sight from the sun’s and ultraviolet rays.
Symptoms that indicate you have nearsightedness or astigmatism
The symptoms of myopia and astigmatism are almost similar, so today we are going to mention what are the cause of this problem, and determine if you or your children may suffer from myopia or astigmatism, and look for a solution.
That said, myopia can usually be present since the child is in his childhood stage, which grows over time, which is generating changes in ocular graduation derived from the growth of the child. However, this anomaly graduates around the age of 18, it is in turn can appear along with other defects such as myopic astigmatism and eyestrain. Therefore, its main symptom is that the person cannot focus things from afar, therefore he sees them blurred, instead up close he sees them clearer.
Now we will talk about astigmatism, this refractive error, is usually present from the moment of birth, and this in turn can also be accompanied by myopia and hyperopia. Suggested treatments would be to use corrective contact lenses or do surgery.
The most common symptoms are; The person has a slightly blurred or distorted vision, eyestrain or discomfort, headache, difficulty seeing at night, squinting to see things more clearly.
That is why if you notice that you or your child has symptoms such as myopia or astigmatism it is better to consult a specialist as soon as possible, so that they perform relevant tests along with the most successful therapies or treatments.
Treatment and cure to correct myopia or astigmatism
Myopia and astigmatism are two problems that go hand in hand; However, the treatment is different.
Myopia as already said before, is when the person cannot see from afar, but close; so its treatment is the use of contact lenses or, failing that, a refractive surgery; since it also depends on the degree of involvement that the person has, you can wear glasses or contact lenses all the time or only when you have to do specific tasks; such as reading, watching TV, computer or cell phone, and when you have to drive a vehicle; On the other hand the glasses recommended for this case are thin and light, received with anti-reflective, also the person could use photochromic contact lenses (with UV filter) to protect the eyes from the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
However, when the person opts for refractive surgery, it reduces the possibility of using glasses; These surgeries are usually done with laser, that is, one of the layers of corneal tissue is removed in order for the cornea to flatten and thus allow light rays to reach and focus more precisely on the eye; Another way to correct myopia is called orthokeratology, this procedure is not with surgery, as it consists of placing rigid contact lenses permeable in the eyes during the night before sleeping; Since they conform to the shape of the cornea, when you wake up you proceed to remove the lenses, and you may notice that you can see more clearly, because the cornea takes a new shape that helps you see better during the day without the use of glasses or contact lenses.
Now it is the turn of astigmatism, today and with technological advances, treatments are not traumatic and painless; The main treatment could be such as myopia the use of contact lenses or glasses; If it is a myopic astigmatism, but beware contact lenses are not for everyone; So before choosing a contact lens; check with your doctor if it is the right one; But if what you want is a permanent solution you can opt for laser surgery, in which the layer of corneal tissue is molded, which gives new shape to the cornea, because the light rays go directly on the cornea as they should be; The benefits are that you will no longer need the use of glasses, the procedure lasts 15 minutes, does not require bandages or sutures, and does not hurt because local anesthesia is used, if the degree of astigmatism is higher or severe; A more complex surgery is recommended, which you should consult with your doctor, and this determines the most appropriate treatment for the degree of astigmatism suffered by the person who consults.
That said, now we are going to show you what types of treatments you can use to correct this type of eye problem.
Corrective lenses
The vast majority of people think that wearing contact lenses looks more attractive than when wearing glasses.
There are also people who say that with contact lenses vision is more natural; However, people who suffer from arthritis or are elderly, it is very difficult for them to manipulate these lenses, placing it in their eyes can cause eye injuries, these lenses are designed in a way to correct different eye problems such as; distance vision and near vision, in different parts of the lens, these are known as bifocal or multifocal lenses, therefore these lenses can correct; myopia, astigmatism, farsightedness, anisometropia, presbyopia, among other anomalies that you can consult with your ophthalmologist, therefore contact lenses are a little soft as well as rigid or hard; in order to correct myopia and farsightedness; and rigid contact lenses, are used for the correction of astigmatism, therefore these contact lenses do not offer protection if you present a blow or contact with a blunt object, however if you wear glasses these if they protect you from trauma or blow.
Eye surgery
There are several types of eye surgery, one of them is LASIK (Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusi) for its acronym in English; that permanently changes the layer of the cornea that is the transparent layer that is on the front layer of the eye, this procedure only lasts 15 minutes and is ambulatory, that is, it does not need hospitalization, because it does not produce pain because local anesthesia is placed in the eye and does not need bandages or eye saturations.
In this surgery a small part of the cornea is cut, the cornea is lifted, corrected and the layer is laser after this is placed in place again, and finally we have SMILE; which is like a smile which corrects myopia from at least 1 to 10 D and astigmatism from 1 to 6 Doctrines, this is done with second effect laser, allows work to be done inside the cornea without making cuts, because a type of contact lens is made in the eye, and corrects myopia and astigmatism.
