Myopic Astigmatism Means More Than Nearsightedness.

Myopic Astigmatism is more commonly known as a form of nearsightedness. This vision problem is experienced by about 30% of the population. People with this problem have difficulty reading street signs, chalkboards, and watching a football game at the stadium. They usually can see up close, to do such things as reading and computer work.

A person who suffers from myopia has an eyeball that is slightly longer from front to back than usual. When this is the case, one of two things happen, either light rays focus on a single point in front of the retina, known as single myopic, or the light rays create more than one point in front of the retina, known as compound myopic. In a normal eyeball, the light rays actually stay directly on the surface of the retina.

Nearsightedness is correctable with eyeglasses, contact lens, and corrective surgery. Depending on the severity of your problem, you may need to wear contacts or eyeglasses all of the time, or only to do such activities as driving or watching movies. Corrective surgery may reduce or eliminate your need for glasses, depending on the severity of your problem. There is also a non-surgical procedure that may provide you with long term correction. It is called orthokeratology, and it requires you to wear special contact lenses to slowly reshape the cornea over time.

Nearsightedness is hereditary and usually appears during childhood. The problem normally stabilizes at some point, but it is not uncommon for it to worsen again with age. This worsening with age is known as myopic creep.

Myopia is a common vision problem, but it need not be a permanent one. Talk to your eye doctor about the options, such as toric contact lenses, that are available to you.