Nepal is seeing a high rise in the number of
myopia-related cases in recent years. In fact, according to a report published
by our Ministry of Health and Population in 2011, there were an estimated 11
million cases of myopia in the country. According to a report published by the World Health Organization (WHO),
there was an estimated case of 158 million cases of myopia worldwide in 2007. By some
estimates, one-third of the world’s population—2.5 billion people—could be
affected by shortsightedness by the end of this decade.
What
causes Myopia?
Definition: Myopia (Nearsightedness) is a refractive
defect of the eye in which distant object appear blurred because their image
are focused in front of the retina rather than on it.
Myopia
is the most common refractive error of the eye and is becoming more prevalent.
Severe Myopia can lead to other complications such as retinal detachment, eye
floaters and macular degeneration.
Our
eyes were never designed by evolution for the way we use them today. In order
for the eye to focus on close objects, the ciliary muscle tightens and causes
the lens of the eye to thicken. Constant focusing on close objects causes a
spam on the ciliary muscle, a constant pulling on the sclera and a related
pressure increases in the vitreous or large chamber of the eye. As the sclera
stretches and becomes larger, the body creates more liquid in the vitreous to
fill the increased volume. This is the body’s simple way of refining the vision
by reducing the normal farsightedness of the infant. This natural elongation of
the eye becomes abnormal when the eye has no farsightedness left and moves into
a myopic condition.
Genetic
Causation:
- More correlated in identical twins than fraternal twins
- More correlated between parents and children than “by chance”
- Gene mutations associated with severe Myopia (SCO2)
- Wide Variation between different ethnic groups
Asia
70-90%
Europe/America
30-40%
Africa
10-20%
Environmental
Causation:
- Large increase among Aboriginal People after Western Schooling
- Correlation between Myopia prevalence and academic achievement
- Experimental demonstration of defocus- induced ocular growth in animals
Diet
and Myopia:
- Some studies implicate contribution to Myopia from
- Hyperinsulinamia and insulin resistance
- Excess intake of carbhohydrate and whole grains
- Deficiency of fish Oil and essential fatty acids
- Mineral Deficiency (Copper)
How
Can Myopia be reversed?
Hormesis:
Hormesis
is the beneficial response of an organism to a low dose stressor that is
otherwise detrimental or lethal at high dose.
Examples
Exercise Active
focusing
Immunization
UV
radiation
Calorie
restriction Phytonutrients
Cold
exposure Callus
formation
Heat
Exposure Barefoot
running
Active
Focusing techniques
1.Print
pushing
For
Myopes, this is done by repeatedly pushing a printed page just slightly outside
the range of focus, and allowing it to sharpen up or clear. The eye gradually
adapts to increase its range. This can be done with different objects at
different ranges. So it can be done with fine print close up, but also with
larger objects in the distance. It is
especially useful to focus sharp lines, such as overhead electrical transmission lines, and houses or trees with
sharp edges. For Myopes it is best carried out by use plus lenses.
2.Use
of plus lenses while reading
3.Progressively
weaker lenses
4.Fusing
Ghosted Images
