Basic knowledge about myopia

1.What is myopia?

Myopia is a type of refractive error, which means that when the human eye is relaxed, parallel light rays pass through the eye's refractive system and focus in front of the retina, causing blurred vision. Normally, the focus should fall exactly on the retina.

2.What are the factors that cause myopia?

-Genetic factors. If parents have myopia, especially severe myopia, the risk of their children developing myopia will increase;

- Environmental factors. These include:

- Lack of outdoor activities;

- Using eyes for too long at close range, including poor reading and writing posture, using mobile phones/tablets and other electronic devices for long periods of time at close range;

- Lack of sleep;

-Bad eating habits, etc.

3.What are the symptoms and dangers of myopia?

- Decreased distance vision: unconsciously squinting, blinking, and tilting the head when looking at distant objects;

- Eye fatigue;

- People with higher myopia often experience poor night vision, floaters (the feeling of floating objects/flashing lights in front of the eyes), etc.

-People with high myopia may experience fundus changes of varying degrees, and severe cases may lead to blindness.

- Myopia in children and adolescents will affect their personality and psychological development;

- Affects the choice of major in study and employment;

4. Classification of Myopia

According to the degree of myopia, it is divided into:

- Low myopia: Myopia between 50 and 300 degrees:

- Moderate myopia: myopia between 300 and 600 degrees;

-High myopia: myopia of more than 600 degrees.

According to the course of disease and pathological changes, it is divided into:

- Simple myopia: The refractive power is generally within 600 degrees. Most patients do not have pathological changes in the fundus, and their vision is generally normal after correction by wearing glasses or contact lenses.

-Pathological myopia: After physiological development stops, myopia continues to progress and is accompanied by pathological changes in the fundus. Most patients have more than 600 degrees and it is somewhat hereditary.

5. What are the means to prevent and control myopia among children and adolescents?

The concept of myopia prevention and control is to achieve the goal of slowing down the progression of myopia through various means. For a detailed introduction to these prevention and control measures, you can read Dr. Jingcai's other article "Myopia Prevention and Control Measures for Children and Adolescents, Just Read This One" The following is just an overview for your general understanding:

- Orthokeratology lenses, also known as OK lenses. They look like contact lenses, but their lenses are hard and are worn at night while sleeping;

-Multifocal soft lenses. They look almost the same as ordinary contact lenses, but due to their multifocal design, they also have the effect of preventing and controlling myopia and can be worn during the day;

-Specially designed frame glasses. They look like ordinary glasses, but the lenses are specially designed to prevent and treat myopia;

- Low-concentration atropine eye drops. Some adolescents and children may be suitable for this product. They need to be prescribed by a professional ophthalmologist or optometrist and used in a standardized manner under the guidance of a doctor.

If this article is helpful to you, you are welcome to share it with other parents. Maybe they also need it. Thank you.

For more ophthalmology related knowledge, you can follow Tejingcai

About Dr. Jingcai: The creators of Dr. Jingcai's popular science content all have a professional background in ophthalmology, a master's degree or above, and are former ophthalmologists. For some popular science content with a higher degree of professionalism, we will also invite working ophthalmologists and optometry experts to review and check it, striving to be responsible for the accuracy of the content and avoid misleading readers.