Myopia

An error of refraction in which objects seen in the distance appear blurred. Commonly called shortsightedness, myopia is caused by the eye being too long from front to back. As a result, images of distant objects are focused in front of the retina. Myopia, which tends to be inherited, usually appears around puberty and increases until the early 20s. If it starts in early childhood it may become very severe. The condition is detected during a vision test. Treatment is with concave glasses (or contact lenses) or by photorefractive keratectomy.