What Causes Myopia (Nearsightedness)?
Nearsightedness, medically called myopia, is the inability to see objects at a distance clearly. In people with myopia, the eyeball is slightly longer than usual from front to back. Light rays which make up the images you see, focus in front of, rather than directly on the retina, the light-sensitive part of the eye. When this happens, objects at a distance seem blurry and unclear. Progressive myopia or nearsightedness is predominantly caused by genetics. Children inherit a tendency to develop myopia from their parents. The manner in which a person uses their eyes, such as often performing detailed or up-close work, may also have an influence on the progression of myopia. How Do I Know If My Child Has Myopia? A child with myopia may complain of headaches, eyestrain, and fatigue when having to focus on something more than a few feet away. Most often, young children with myopia only complain of difficulties seeing things far away. A child with myopia may move closer to objects to see cle
