Short-sightedness, or myopia, is a very common eye condition that causes distant objects to appear blurred, while close objects can be seen clearly.

It’s thought to affect up to one in three people in the UK and is becoming more common. Short-sightedness can range from mild, where treatment may not be required, to severe, where a person’s vision is significantly affected.

The condition usually starts around puberty and gets gradually worse until the eye is fully grown, but it can also develop in very young children.

Signs that your child may be short-sighted can include:

• needing to sit near the front of the class at school because they find it difficult to read the whiteboard
• sitting close to the TV
• complaining of headaches or tired eyes
• regularly rubbing their eyes

Getting your eyes tested

If you think you or your child may be short-sighted, you should book an eye test at a local opticians.

An eye test can confirm whether you’re short or long-sighted, and you can be given a prescription for glasses or contact lenses to correct your vision.

What causes short-sightedness?

Short-sightedness usually occurs when the eyes grow slightly too long.

This means that light doesn’t focus on the light-sensitive tissue (retina) at the back of the eye properly. Instead, the light rays focus just in front of the retina, resulting in distant objects appearing blurred.

It’s not clear exactly why this happens, but it often runs in families and has been linked to focusing on nearby objects, such as books and computers, for long periods during childhood.

Ensuring your child regularly spends time playing outside may help to reduce their risk of becoming short-sighted.

Treatments for short-sightedness

Short-sightedness can usually be corrected effectively with a number of treatments.

The main treatments are:

• corrective lenses – such as glasses or contact lenses to help the eyes focus on distant objects
• laser eye surgery to alter the shape of the eye – this isn’t usually available on the NHS and shouldn’t be carried out on children, whose eyes are still developing
• artificial lens implants – where a man-made lens is permanently inserted into the eyes to help them focus correctly; these are also not usually available on the NHS

Associated eye conditions

Some adults with severe short-sightedness and young children with untreated short-sightedness are more likely to develop other eye problems.

These can include:

• a squint– a common childhood condition where the eyes point in different directions
• a lazy eye –  a childhood condition where the vision in one eye doesn’t develop properly
• glaucoma– increased pressure inside the eyes
• cataracts – where cloudy patches develop inside the lens of the eye
• retinal detatchment – where the retina pulls away from the blood vessels that supply it with oxygen and nutrients

uSE IN VIRTUAL REALITY

Although it is a visual impairment, many people are familiar with short sightedness, more so when compared to other impairments such as Lazy Eye or Cataracts that have a more physical aspect to them as they show signs of impairment in the actual eye, whereas short sightedness does not. I will include information on short sightedness however will not be focussing on it completely as it is a very common condition that the majority of people already know about.