Can you cure short sightedness

Treatment for short-sightedness A cure for short-sightedness has not been discovered, although there are ways to improve your vision if you have this eye condition. Ways to correct your vision if you are short-sighted include: wearing glasses — a simple and safe way to correct your vision wearing contact lenses — these are worn directly on the eye having laser surgery — a laser beam is used to change the shape of your cornea having intraocular lens surgery — your lens is replaced with a small plastic lens intraocular lens.

If you are very short-sighted, you may be at an increased risk of other eye problems such as: stretching and thinning of the back of the eye retina holes and tears of the retina retinal detachment — the retina separates from the layer of blood vessels and without treatment you may become blind.

Talk to your optometrist or ophthalmologist for more information. Give feedback about this page. Was this page helpful? Yes No. View all eyes. Related information.

From other websites Myopia — Optometry Australia. Nearsightedness — Mayo Clinic. Content disclaimer Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Reviewed on: If you think you or your child may be short-sighted, you should book an eye test at a local opticians. You should have a routine eye test at least every 2 years, but you can have a test at any point if you have any concerns about your vision.

An eye test can confirm whether you're short or long-sighted , and you can be given a prescription for glasses or contact lenses to correct your vision. For some people, such as children under 16 or those under 19 and in full-time education, eye tests are available free of charge on the NHS. Read about NHS eyecare entitlements to check if you qualify. Read more about diagnosing short-sightedness. This means that light doesn't focus on the light-sensitive tissue retina at the back of the eye properly.

This is where part of the artificial lens becomes thickened and cloudy. PCO usually occurs a few months or years after having surgery. Treatment for PCO can involve having laser surgery to remove the thickened part of the lens.

You should talk to your doctor or surgeon about each procedure so you're fully aware of any risks involved. The younger they are when they start becoming short-sighted, generally the faster their vision deteriorates and the more severe it is in adulthood. But it may be slowed by treatments involving eye drops of a medication called atropine, or special contact lenses.

Research has shown that atropine eye drops can slow the progression of short-sightedness, but it can cause side effects at high strengths such as difficulty reading and sensitivity to bright light. Orthokeratology and bifocal contact lenses may also slow down short-sight progression in children, but possibly not as much as the eye drops, and they carry small risks.

Page last reviewed: 30 July Next review due: 30 July Corrective lenses Glasses Short-sightedness can usually be corrected using glasses made specifically to your prescription. The thickness and weight of the lenses you need will depend on how short-sighted you are. Contact lenses Contact lenses can also be used to correct vision in the same way as glasses. Some opticians very occasionally use a technique called orthokeratology.

Your optician can advise you about the most suitable type of contact lenses for you. Read more about contact lens safety.

Availability and cost You can get vouchers towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses if you're eligible for example, if you're under 16 years of age or you receive Income Support. Laser eye surgery Laser eye surgery involves using a laser to burn away small sections of your cornea to correct the curvature so light is better focused onto your retina. There are 3 main types of laser eye surgery: photorefractive keratectomy PRK — where a small amount of the cornea's surface is removed, and a laser is used to remove tissue and change the shape of the cornea laser epithelial keratomileusis LASEK — similar to PRK, but involves using alcohol to loosen the surface of the cornea so a flap of tissue can be lifted out of the way, while a laser is used to alter the shape of the cornea; the flap is then put back in place afterwards laser in situ keratectomy LASIK — similar to LASEK, but a smaller flap of cornea is created These procedures are usually carried out on an outpatient basis, so you won't normally have to stay in hospital overnight.

Which procedure is best? PRK can be a bit painful and it can take several months for your vision to stabilise afterwards. Results The results of all 3 techniques are usually good.

Most people who have laser surgery report that they're happy with the results. Also, as with any type of surgery, laser surgery carries the risk of complications. In these cases, a qualified eye care professional — an orthoptist, optometrist or ophthalmologist — may prescribe specific eye exercises also called vision training to improve these conditions.

This claim dates back over many centuries — it is believed that the ancient Chinese slept with sandbags or small weights on their eyes overnight to improve their vision for the morning.

This advice is wrong, and is potentially dangerous, as pushing on your eye can dramatically increase the pressure in your eye, like pushing on a balloon, potentially damaging the eye structures. Avoid rubbing and pressing your eyes as if done frequently this can cause long term eye health damage. On the positive note, this ancient Chinese concept is somewhat like how Orthokeratology works to temporarily correct vision during the day — but by using gentle pressure between a contact lens and the eye surface, not the blunt pressure of a sandbag or a hand!

Vitamins are used in healthcare to treat some eye conditions. Age-related macular degeneration AMD , a condition that causes blindness mainly in the elderly has been proven through scientific studies to slow down when taking a very specific dose of some vitamins.

This is only for AMD though, and if taken incorrectly and not under the direction of a professional these vitamins can bring about health complications in some people.

There is no current vitamin that prevents or cures myopia, and all vitamins and supplements should only be taken under the advice of your healthcare professional.

There appears to be no additional risks when looking at the risk of eye infection in contact lens wearing children aged and teenagers; in fact it seems that children may even be safer wearers, which is likely due to parental supervision and support. This is especially the case for the type of contact lenses most commonly prescribed to children, daily disposable lenses — which you throw away each day, after every use.

If you wear these contact lenses for 5, years, you on average are at risk of 1 eye infection.