Because of their central role in everyday life, humans are very sensitive to any limitations or quirks affecting our eyes. Thankfully, most people find that even if they do have a condition that inhibits perfect vision, it is not one that has a significant negative effect on everyday life. One of the most common conditions that affect vision is myopia, also known as nearsightedness. It is estimated that almost 30 percent of all Americans have some degree of myopia.  Dr. David O’Day, MD and his team of experts can examine your eyes and recommend the best course of action to correct your vision.

As the term nearsighted suggests, this is a condition in which people can see things that are near to them, but struggle to see things that are further away. Typically the quality of vision gradually deteriorates and gets blurrier as you look at objects that are farther from you.

Often, nearsightedness is discovered when children begin to attend school, as looking at the chalkboard or overhead projector will be a challenge for a child who is nearsighted. However, nearsightedness may also set in later in life as it is believed that visual stress brought on by too much close-up work can prompt the condition. Typically, however, nearsightedness is the result of excessive curvature of the cornea or having an eyeball that is too long, so the condition is evident as the eye continues to develop, which is usually until about age 20.

Luckily, there are several options for treating this vision condition, and they tend to be both safe and effective. Most commonly, Glasses or Contact Lenses are used to adjust the way in which light hits your eye, which corrects the issue caused by the less than optimal eyeball or cornea shaping that triggers nearsightedness. These methods have been used for many years and provide great results with minimal inconvenience.

There are also methods of addressing nearsightedness that aim to permanently address the condition so that corrective lenses are not necessary. One method is corneal refractive therapy, in which doctors use special contact lenses that gently reshape your cornea so that light does hit your retina correctly. Additionally, doctors may use the LASIK surgical procedure to address nearsightedness. This high-tech procedure has a high rate of success and also eliminates the need for corrective lenses.

If you are looking for a safe, effective way to address your myopic vision under the care of compassionate and knowledgeable professionals, consider coming to Charleston Cornea & Refractive Surgery. The centers are conveniently located in Mount Pleasant, North Charleston, and Myrtle Beach SC. Whether you have myopic vision and are curious about solutions such as LASIK, or have other vision concerns we can help. Call us at (843) 856-5275 for more information.