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If you are having trouble seeing things at a distance, chances are you have myopia, or nearsightedness. Those who are nearsighted can see well up close but have great difficulty seeing objects that are farther away. Widely believed to be a genetic trait, myopia can easily be treated with various options.

Myopia Symptoms and Diagnosis

More commonly referred to as nearsightedness, myopia is one of the easier refractive errors to spot. The main symptom of myopia is the inability to see objects at a distance. People who are nearsighted can often be found squinting in order to focus on an object. This may result in eyestrain and possibly headaches as well. A visual acuity test, where the person is asked to read lines from an eye chart, is the best diagnostic tool for myopia. Additionally, your ophthalmologist is likely to have you look through a special device in order to assess your degree of myopia. Through this device, the ophthalmologist will change lenses back and forth and ask you to determine which lens gives you better vision. Once decided, you may be asked to read the eye chart again to see if that is the right prescription to correct your current vision.

Myopia Treatment Options

For years, eyeglasses or contact lenses were some of the only options in treating myopia. Now, refractive surgery can correct myopia and reduce or completely eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses. Since wearing glasses or contact lenses is non-invasive, many patients still opt for this treatment method. Patients, who are still growing, such as young children and teenagers, should choose this option since their prescription will likely change as they get older. And with more fashionable frames and thinner lenses, eyeglasses can also be a popular fashion accessory while still helping you see clearly. Refractive surgery, such as LASIK, PRK, and LASEK, uses laser technology to reshape the cornea to improve blurred vision. The implantation of phakic intraocular lenses (IOLs), including the Visian ICL^TM and the Verisyse^TM phakic IOL, is another option for correcting severe myopia. LASIK is, by far, the most popular refractive surgery available and can be completed in 15 minutes. Complications are rare, and the surgical procedures can often improve vision to 20/40 and, many times, even 20/20.

LASIK eye surgery has become the most popular form of vision correction with the exception of glasses and contact lenses. The market is a booming business with over a million new patients a year who decide to have the procedure. This number is rising each year and with continuing advancement in the procedure it is likely to continue growing at an unprecedented rate. However, there are some people who are not good candidates for LASIK eye surgery. For those, and for those who are not comfortable with the procedure, there is a need for alternative to LASIK eye surgery. Additionally, there are variations to conventional LASIK, including custom wavefront LASIK, Epi LASIK, blade-free LASIK, and iLASIK^TM. For many years, the idea of someone using a scalpel on their eyes has kept many from having LASIK surgery. Just the thought of it makes some people cringe. With today's advancements in eye surgery, it is no longer necessary for surgeons to use blades. The detachment of the cornea can now be done with bladeless technology. Conductive Keratoplasty (CK) uses radio waves to reshape the eye without any invasive technique at all. This is becoming a very popular alternative to LASIK eye surgery. PRK, or photo refractive keratectomy, is another LASIK alternative. For those suffering from mild to moderate myopia there is the alternative of implantable lenses, like the Verisyse^TM Phakic IOL and the Visian ICL^TM. These lenses are permanently attached to the eye. One way of looking at it is to think of implantable contact lenses. While this method of eye correction is slightly more invasive than LASIK, it is a reasonable alternative for those who are not good candidates for LASIK eye surgery. The contact lens industry is also developing technology to keep their market from suffering too much from the LASIK surgery boom. Many contact lens manufacturers are making contacts that are able to stay in the users eyes for longer periods of time. The 30 day contact lens, or extended wear lenses are becoming a reasonable alternative to LASIK surgery for those who don‘t qualify for the procedure.

LASIK is a highly advanced and reliable method of surgery used to correct all manner of eye impairments. The LASIK system uses targeted and customized lasers to reform and sculpt an individual's cornea, thereby restoring normal sight and increasing the person's quality of life. Since LASIK has been around for many years now, many accurate and reliable statistics prove how effective this form of surgery is in treating problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Statistics show that the majority of LASIK patients experience a dramatic increase in sight quality almost immediately after the LASIK surgery procedure. Depending on the severity of the condition being treated, a high percentage of people even report achieving higher than 20/20 vision. Even those with moderate to severe myopia and hyperopia report a high degree of improvement, sometimes allowing the patient to be completely free of all previously necessary corrective eyewear. Overall statistics show about three-fourths of LASIK patients receive the expected results or higher. Almost all patients report that the process was beneficial to their vision, and are pleased with the process as a whole. Less than 10 percent of LASIK patients require additional follow-up surgeries to correct their eyesight further. In addition, those who suffer from nearsightedness more commonly request this additional procedure. The FDA reports that doctors achieve about a 58 percent success rate in restoring 20/20 vision to LASIK patients. This is a truly impressive statistic. This means that the vast majority of those considering LASIK surgery will achieve the results they dream of, and in some cases, can even exceed all expectations. With such reliable statistics, it is hard to resist the lure of LASIK surgery. If you're one of the millions considering this process, contact your LASIK eye surgeon and schedule an assessment. Better vision may be just within your reach.