Myopia (nearsightedness), is the most common refractive error of the eye, and it has become more prevalent in recent years. The exact cause for this increase in nearsightedness is unknown, many eye doctors feel it has something to do with eye fatigue from computer use and other extended near vision tasks, coupled with a genetic predisposition for myopia.

If you are nearsighted, you typically will have difficulty reading road signs and seeing distant objects clearly, but will be able to see well for close-up tasks such as reading and computer use.

1. Normal myopia: below -6.00D. Most people with myopia are below -6.00D, but some people have much higher levels of myopia. How high your myopia is can be a sign of whether it may lead to further problems with your eyes. Most people with myopia of less than -6.00D don’t develop any further problems and the blurriness their myopia causes is easily dealt with by glasses or contact lenses. This is sometimes known as simple myopia.

2. Degenerative myopia: over -6.00D Degenerative myopia (also called pathological or malignant myopia) is a rare and mostly inherited type of myopia that begins in early childhood. In degenerative myopia, the eyeball elongates rapidly and causes severe myopia, usually by the teenage or early adult years. Degenerative myopia may also progress far into the adult years. People with the condition have a significantly increased risk of retinal detachment and other degenerative changes in the back of the eye, including choroid neovascularization (abnormal blood vessel growth), and glaucoma.

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Normal eye		Myopic eye