Treatment of Short-sightedness

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Correction of short-sightedness can generally be achieved with glasses (spectacles) or contact lenses. The refraction test determines which are the best corrective lenses to give the best vision. This can be done with computerised equipment, but more usually by an instrument which holds corrective lenses in position in front of the eye. The optician will then adjust the lenses until the eye chart appears the clearest possible for the person whose eyes are being tested. A prescription for suitable lenses can then be prepared.

Contact lenses may be hard and float on the surface of the eye or soft and mould to the shape of the eye and allow oxygen to transmit through them.Surgery for correcting myopia has developed over recent years. Until the 1990s, surgical treatment involved a procedure called radial keratotomy, which entailed making radial cuts in the corneal surface to flatten the curvature to correct myopia.

More recently laser surgery (photorefractive keratotomy (PRK) or (laser insitu keratomileusis (LASIK) have become popular.

These techniques use the same basic principle, namely the use of an ultraviolet laser to re-profile the surface shape of the cornea.

Photo-refractive keratectomy (PRK) involves treating the surface of the cornea with an Excimer laser which results in flattening of the cornea to correct myopia. The treatment is often painful for up to 48 hours after the procedure and is limited to the treatment of lower degrees of myopia.
LASIK (laser insitu keratomileusis) involves lifting a small flap of corneal tissue and lasering onto the deeper cornea beneath. Both procedures take less than one minute per eye. LASIK offers quicker rehabilitation, is virtually pain free and offers advantages over PRK for higher degrees of myopia, up to 12 dioptres. These procedures are only available privately at present.