Know What Minus Eye Is, Causes and Prevention – If you find it difficult to see objects that are far from you, or can’t read writing from a distance, it means you have a nearsighted eye disorder or minus eye. Nearsightedness in the medical world is called myopia. There are many reasons why the eye can have nearsightedness, for example reading books too close, or using gadgets too close. However, many also say that minus eyes are hereditary.
There must be someone around you who said that the minus eye was inherited from his father or mother. Researchers reveal that this nearsighted eye disorder can be passed down in families. However, it is also driven by external factors such as not taking care of eye health or often reading in a room with low light. Then, how do you prevent nearsightedness or reduce eye minus? Check out the article below to understand more about nearsightedness.
What is Minus Eye or Miopia?
Myopia or nearsightedness is difficulty seeing distant objects. People who are nearsighted will find it easier to see closer objects. This minus eye condition is quite common and can be helped by using glasses, contact lenses or eye surgery. Myopia is not an eye disease, but a disorder of the eye that makes people unable to see from a distance.
In a normal eye, light from outside will fall right on the retina. In contrast to myopia, light from outside will fall in front of the retina. Because light from outside does not hit the retina exactly, objects that are far away will appear blurry.
Farsightedness can be passed down from father or mother to child. Farsightedness is generally found in children aged 9 to 12 years. When children become teenagers, this nearsightedness can get worse. Nearsightedness can also occur in adults.
Nearsightedness ranges from low to high. High levels of nearsightedness will usually stabilize when a person is 20 to 30 years old. This high degree of nearsightedness can be corrected by using minus lens glasses or using contact lenses. If the person is not comfortable with wearing glasses every day, then eye surgery can be done to correct the minus eye.
However, it needs further attention, because people with minus eyes have a higher risk for other eye diseases than people who do not have minus eyes. One of the eye diseases that can be triggered by minus eyes is damage to the retina. People who have a high level of minus also have a higher risk of glaucoma and cataracts than people who have normal eyes.
Cataracts are a disease that occurs in the lens of the eye. This disease or disorder can interfere with daily activities for sufferers. Disorders of this cataract appear gradually and are usually painless. Meanwhile, glaucoma is a condition caused by a buildup of pressure in the eye. This buildup can damage the optic nerve. If this eye disorder is not treated immediately, people with glaucoma can experience permanent blindness.
Because cataracts have symptoms similar to myopia, you need to see a doctor if your pupils are white, your vision becomes blurry, it’s very difficult to see at night, the object you see becomes double and you need more light for activities. glaucoma is when your vision becomes blurry suddenly, your eyes feel very painful, you feel nauseous and dizzy, and you see colored rings around lights or lights.
Prescriptions from doctors can help the eye focus light to fall right on the retina. In addition, eye surgery can also improve vision. The most common surgical procedures used for nearsightedness are photorefractive keratectomy and LASIK. Photoreactive keratectomy is a surgery that uses a laser to carve out the middle layer of the eye’s cornea. This aims to flatten the curve on the cornea so that light can focus on the retina.
LASIK surgery is nearsighted surgery using a laser to create a thin fold in the top layer of the cornea of the eye. For people who have very high minuses, they are usually advised to undergo cataract surgery or use eye drops that can slow the development of other eye diseases.
Minus Eye Symptoms
Symptoms of minus eye are:
- Vision becomes blurry when looking at objects at a distance
- See distant objects by squinting or partially closing your eyes so you can see objects clearly.
- Headaches that can be caused by tired eyes.
- Difficulty when driving, especially at night or it can be called night blindness.
Because minus eyes tend to be detected when they are children, or are usually diagnosed
during early adolescence, parents should start paying attention to the condition of their child’s vision if the child often crosses his eyes, draws himself closer while watching TV, or looks at the blackboard, is not aware of distant objects, often blinks or rubs his eyes frequently.
3 Common Causes of Minus Eyes
The cause of nearsightedness is that the retina receives an image formed by light rays from outside. Furthermore, the object depicted will be sent to the brain through the optic nerves which are part of the brain. This farsightedness can occur when the cornea is too concave or the eyeball is longer so that light rays from outside will fall in front of the retina, not on the retina. Researchers don’t know the exact cause of nearsightedness, but heredity and bad daily habits could be one of the causes.
Historically, there is a long history of increasing myopia in people who are actively involved in doing more work at work. In fact, scientists since the 1800s have demonstrated a link between people with higher education being farsighted compared to those who are not highly educated or often work outside.
For the most part, nowadays humans are often exposed to close-range stimuli such as looking at cellphone screens, computer tablets or other digital devices. Researchers still can’t say for sure whether digital tools are really something to worry about or not. In addition, the environment also has a role. Studies show that time spent outdoors seems to have a greater effect than lingering indoors.
Children who spend more time outdoors tend to be far less likely to develop nearsightedness than those who spend more time indoors. Previous researchers weren’t sure why this had an effect, but they suggested a link with exposure to sunlight or being in an environment that was oriented at a greater distance than indoors.
1. Descendants
Maybe many of us don’t realize that nearsightedness can be genetically inherited. If one of your parents has nearsightedness, chances are that you will be nearsighted too. What’s more, if both of your parents are nearsighted, then the chances of you being nearsighted will be even greater. Research says that there are 40 genes that cause a person to experience nearsightedness because it is passed down by their parents.
2. Too often do activities in the room
Rarely doing outdoor activities is said to be one of the causes of minus eyes. This is due to the light that is indoors and outdoors is different. Indoor light tends to be darker than natural light outdoors. This of course can affect eye health. Insufficient or dim lighting will tire the eyes quickly and reduce the ability of the eyes to capture light.
3. Reading or playing gadgets too close
Reading a book can be one of the causes of nearsightedness if you read a book in a dim place or too close to your eyes.
People who have a hobby of reading are said to be more likely to be nearsighted than those who don’t. This also applies if you use the gadget too close and the light is dim.
Most people use their gadgets before going to bed with less light and close range, this will make the eyes tired and nearsighted. Try to get used to reading or playing gadgets with a distance of 40 cm.
How to Prevent Minus Eyes
Doctors say that the development of nearsightedness can be reduced by 50 percent. Of course, to avoid the minus getting higher, it would be better to take precautions. Here are some ways to prevent or control myopia.
1. Have your eyes checked by a doctor
Usually many parents are worried if the doctor recommends wearing glasses all day. Parents fear that their children will rely on glasses so that their nearsightedness may increase.
Not a few parents also avoid checking their children’s eyesight to the doctor. However, research shows that if you don’t check your child’s vision from an early age, it will cause your nearsightedness to get worse.
Therefore, if children complain that it is difficult to see distant objects, it is better to have them checked early before their vision gets worse.
2. Increase outdoor activities
Research shows that doing more outdoor activities can reduce the development of myopia. Although this research needs to be carried out further, spending time outside is an important factor in preventing myopia.
Usually doctors will recommend playing outside for 120 minutes for children every day. Doing outdoor activities can also help reduce obesity, increase vitamin D and dopamine levels, besides that it can also increase socialization with other people.
3. Low Dose Atropine
A 0.1% atropine solution has been shown to reduce the development of myopia quite effectively. However, this solution does not slow down the rate of increase in eyeball length. Some researchers say that this solution can reduce the development of myopia by as much as 90%.
This atropine solution is given as much as one drop in the eye every day at bedtime at night. Low doses of atropine are fairly safe, but high doses can have unwanted side effects. Check with your doctor to find out if atropine is right for you or not.
4. Food for healthy eyes
A healthy lifestyle can certainly reduce visual impairment significantly. Some nutrients such as zinc, vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene can reduce the risk of eye disease. In addition there are also omega-3 which can help improve eye health. Here are foods that are good for eye health.
a. Fish
For this one food, many may already know about its benefits for eye health. Many types of fish have omega-3 fatty acids. If we eat fish that have lots of omega-3 fats, this can improve eye health. Some types of fish are tuna, mackerel, anchovies and sardines. The oil in the fish’s body can cure dry eyes, especially dry eyes caused by looking at gadget screens for too long.
b. Nuts and seeds
Besides fish, nuts also have high omega-3 fatty acids. In addition to omega-3 fatty acids, nuts also contain vitamin E which can protect the eyes. Nuts that are good for the eyes include cashews, walnuts and others. Apart from nuts, seeds are also rich in omega-3 and vitamin E. Seeds are good for the eyes such as basil seeds.
c. Fruits
Fruits certainly have many benefits for the body. One of the fruits that are good for the eyes is citrus fruits. Citrus fruits contain vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that can fight eye damage due to aging. Apart from oranges, there are also grapes and red guava which contain vitamin C.
d. Green vegetable
Besides fruits that are good for the body, vegetables are also very good for consumption, especially green vegetables. Green leafy vegetables are rich in lutein, vitamin C and zeaxanthin which are good for eye health. These green vegetables include spinach, kale, cabbage, mustard greens, and others.
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e. Carrots and Sweet Potatoes
Carrots are rich in vitamin A and beta carotene. Beta carotene is the compound that gives carrots their orange color. Vitamin A has an important role in vision.
Vitamin A is a protein component that can help the retina to absorb light. Beta carotene has an important role that is needed by the body to make vitamin A. Apart from carrots, sweet potatoes are also rich in beta carotene. Sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidants and vitamin E.
f. Meat
Beef will contain zinc which is related to long-term eye health. Zinc can help delay vision loss due to age or macular degeneration.
The eye organ itself has a high zinc content, especially in the retina and also the blood vessels around the retina. Meat that contains zinc is beef, pork and chicken.
g. Egg
Besides meat, eggs are also one of the foods that are good for eye health. Eggs are a food that contains a very good source of lutein and zeaxanthin and can reduce the risk of vision loss due to age. In addition, eggs are also a good source of vitamins C and E and zinc.
h. Mineral water
Mineral water has many benefits for the health of the human body. The health of the body also includes the eye organs. Mineral water can help prevent dehydration in the body which can trigger dry eyes.