Nearsightedness

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Visual acuity test

Normal, near, and farsightedness

Lasik eye surgery - series

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Nearsightedness

Alternative Names:

Myopia; Shortsightedness

Symptoms:

Blurred vision or squinting when trying to see distant objects (children often cannot read the blackboard, but can easily read a book).
Eyestrain.
Headaches (uncommon).

Signs and tests:

A general eye examination, or standard ophthalmic exam may include:

Visual acuity, both at a distance (Snellen), and close up (Jaeger)
Refraction test, to determine the correct prescription for glasses
Test of color vision, to test for possible color blindness
Tests of the muscles which move the eyes
Slit-lamp exam of the structures at the front of the eyes
Measurement of the pressure of fluid in the eyes
Retinal examination

Review Date: 11/14/2005
Reviewed By: Edward B. Feinberg, MD, MPH, Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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