Causes

To understand short sightedness, it first helps to understand how the eye works.

Short sightedness is a refractive error caused by an imperfection in the eye. The imperfection changes the way your eye focuses the light rays that pass into it. This can happen when:

• The eyeball is longer than normal
• The cornea is more curved than normal

When any of these imperfections occur, it changes the focusing point of the eye so that light rays focus in front of your retina, instead of on it. This makes objects in the distance look blurry. Close-up objects generally still appear clear, because the light rays enter your eye at a slight angle, so they focus on your retina properly.

Myopia, is believed to be an inherited condition, so you’re more likely to be short sighted if one or both of your parents are short sighted too. There is also some evidence to suggest that short sightedness is more common in people who do a lot of close up work, such as reading and using a computer.
 

Treatment

People with short sightedness generally have good vision aside from the refractive error. Refractive errors were traditionally corrected with glasses and contacts. However, for permanent vision correction and freedom from the hassles of glasses and contacts, laser eye surgery is an excellent option.