Myopia: An ignored issue

[CosmicPathos]

When was the first time you realized you could not see what your teacher was writing on the blackboard and it seemed all blurry? Those blurry colored sketches on the blackboard? Familiar story? I was diagnosed with myopia in grade 5. It was cool back then to wear glasses. I did not know what my life would be today due to this disease.

Yes I said it. Myopia is a disease. We take wearing glasses as something so benign that we dont consider it a disease. Imagine humanity had not developed lenses, what your vision would be like? yea, we would essentially be legally blind right now! Thanks to the Chinese for creating lenses.

But if I begin to list, which I will, the risks myopia predisposes your eyes to, you'd be left wondering that why the heck your optometrist did not educate you about the risks you face when you were a child. I wish the optometrist in 1995 had told my parents about what to expect in regards to their children's crappy vision. He did not.

Myopia has different causes. Basically, it can either be due to longer than normal eye ball axial length, or it could be due to problems in the cornea. Axial length myopia is more common.

Mild myopia of -1 to -3 diopters can increase your risk of retinal detachment 4 fold compared to normal population! I've mentioned before, only 90% of retinal detachments are treatable, 10% are not. Moreover, about 30% of all retinal detachments will develop proliferative vitreoretinopathy, and once you get that, then it is all downhill from there.

A recent study in Lancet has shown that myopia has reached epidemic proportions among East Asians. What does this mean? A huge burden of eye diseases and blindness.

The higher prevalence of myopia in east Asian cities seems to be associated with increasing educational pressures, combined with life-style changes, which have reduced the time children spend outside. There are no reported major genes for school myopia, although there are several genes associated with high myopia.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/la...272-4/fulltext

So you want to ensure that your child does not go blind when he/she is at peak of their career and studies? Adopt healthy behaviors from childhood. Enough exposure to Sunlight, enough outdoor activities, all are essential to prevent myopia during childhood.

I hope this will benefit someone.

[marwen]

Thanks bro. Very informative post.