Myopia and Hypermetropia

These are both common refractive eye disorders caused by irregularities in the shape of the eye, causing the light to be refracted either in front of or behind the retina so that the image is not clear.  Myopia, or nearsightedness, is caused by the eye being longer or the cornea steeper than usual, resulting in the images being focused in front of the retina rather than directly on it.  This causes people to see close objects clearly but distant objects unclearly.  Hypermetropia, or farsightedness, is caused by an eye that is shorter than usual, so that the light rays focus behind instead of on the retina. This causes people to see distant objects clearly and close objects unclearly.  Treatment is usually with eyeglasses and contact lenses.  LASIK and LASEK surgeries have proven a safe way to improve vision.