Learn more about vision correction
Over 80 million children are affected by the myopia epidemic and the economic cost is estimated at an annual $268 billion worldwide.
What is myopia?
Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a refractive error in your eye. This means that the eye does not refract light properly to a single focus, which enabled you to see images clearly.
Myopia typically begins in children and you may be more at risk if both your parents are nearsighted.
Symptoms of myopia can include:
- Eye squinting
- Eye strain
- Headaches
- Fatigue feeling when playing sports or driving
With children, the NHS advise to look for these additional symptoms
- Regularly rubbing their eyes
- Sitting close to the T.V.
- Needing to sit near the front of the class at school because of difficulties to see the whiteboard
- Complaints of tired eyes and headaches
From bustling cities of the western world to developing societies in east, this interactive map will reveal the countries that are being swept with an epidemic of myopia and the countries that aren’t.
Find out more below with this infographic showing where the myopia epidemic has the greatest presence!
Sources
NHS
Read more on eye health, laser eye surgery and vision, here
If you are interested in vision correction at Focus Clinic please call us on 0207 307 8250 and book a free consultation.
Book your FREE consultation
9 Important Signs You Need An Eye Check-up
Typically, optometrists and ophthalmologists recommend that most people go for an eye health check-up at least once every two years. The value of a regularly scheduled eye examination extends far beyond simply identifying a need for vision correction. In fact, periodic check-ups can also be useful in helping to diagnose other common medical conditions, both […]
Learn more
5 Random Facts About Your Eyes
Your eyes are one of the most fascinating and developed organs in your entire body. It takes half of your brain to control and process your vision and 80% of your memories are a result of what you have seen using them. We’ve put together some of our favourite fun facts about your eyes. 1) You […]
Learn more
A CET Evening With Us at Focus Clinics
Here at Focus Clinics, we are proud to announce that we will be hosting a CET Evening, on Thursday the 27th of July, at our clinic in Central London. We are passionate about the optometrist and ophthalmology community across the whole of the UK. We are the most trusted laser eye clinic in the UK […]
Learn more
Eye Allergies to look out for in Children
Children who suffer from allergies will often have symptoms such as sneezing, sniffling and nasal congestion - but if you find that their eyes are red, itchy, and swollen, there’s a good chance they might be suffering from an eye allergy too.
Learn more
Eye yoga…top tips on improving vision and busting stress
We have all heard of yoga as a form of exercise to improve our health and mind, but did you know eye yoga can do wonders to our vision too? Eye yoga enables us to use our eyes to their fullest capability, something which does not occur in our day-to-day life. Whilst many of us […]
Learn more
Photophobia: symptoms, causes and treatments
Photophobia literally means “fear of light”, and although it sounds like an intense fear or phobia it is, in fact, an intense intolerance towards light that affects your vision. Also known as light sensitivity, sources such as fluorescent light, incandescent light and even natural sunlight can all cause discomfort to sufferers of photophobia. Light is […]
Learn more
What is age-related macular degeneration?
If you’ve been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, you’re not alone. In the UK, over 600,000 people are affected with the condition, and is one of the leading causes of severe vision loss in people over 60. You may not notice any change in your vision during the early stages, especially if you have AMD […]
Learn more
Novelty contacts this Halloween: trick or treat?
Novelty contacts are extremely popular around this time of year and whilst we all want to have the scariest Halloween costume, it is not worth risking your vision by misusing these special-effects lenses. What are novelty contact lenses? Did you need a prescription to wear novelty contact lenses? If you are thinking about wearing novelty […]
Learn more
Exercises to improve your eye health
Do you suffer from eyestrain, blurred vision, headaches, increased sensitivity to bright light, tired eyes or difficulty sustaining attention? When your eyes get tired but still have some work to do, you can do a number of eye exercises to help improve your eyesight and take the strain away. Our eyes need regular exercise in […]
Learn more
Why uncontrolled diabetes can lead to serious eye problems
Did you know nearly one person in every 25 in the UK has diabetes? It can take time to get your diabetes under control, but the results are worth it – otherwise you could set yourself up for a host of complications. Diabetes can take a toll on nearly every organ in your body, and […]
Learn more
The dangers of wearing contact lenses
Around 3 million people in the UK wear contact lenses and they can provide a safe and effective way to correct vision when used with care and proper supervision – but you may not realise the full impact of the consequences if you don’t properly care for your contacts. A recent news story uncovered the dangers of […]
Learn more
What are the short- and long-term laser eye surgery effects?
With any surgical procedure, including laser eye surgery, it’s important to address a number of principal issues and questions up front. Is it the right option for you personally? What exactly will the procedure involve? And – most importantly for many people – what can you expect the outcomes to be? What are the laser […]
Learn more
Beauty is pain, but is it worth risking your vision?
A 24 year old Canadian model has recently had an eye tattoo which has left her partially blind. And that’s not the only scar of scleral tattoo. Catt Gallinger herself has said that she’s made a ‘massive mistake’ as it affects her mental health. Have body modifications gone one step too far as people begin […]
Learn more
The new smart glasses: you’ve never seen or heard anything like it
We all know that glasses help us read more easily, but did you know there will soon be smart glasses that can read out loud what’s written in front of us on paper? A new Japanese company called Oton Glass are currently developing a pair of glasses that will be able to convert text into […]
Learn more
The Google Doodle Created in Honour of Ferdinand Monoyer
Earlier this week on the 9th May an animated Google Doodle was created in honour of Ferdinand Monoyer’s 181st birthday. The doodle features a pair of eyes on the left, which form the ‘O’s in the word Google, alongside an eye chart on the right. As the eyes squint, the letters on the right become […]
Learn more
TV Shows of 2017: What takes the crown as most watched?
With blue Monday just a few days ago and many of us still in the throws of January blues, some of us may be looking back and reflecting on the year just gone. This time of year we see programmes crop up that look back at the highs and lows of 2017, and here at […]
Learn more
Age 18 to 30 with driving glasses
More and more people age 18-30 are being prescribed glasses, from the use of technology gadgets, computers and for driving. The most common reason for those age 18-30 and need glasses for driving and other distance vision problems, or who wear glasses full time is: Myopia, also known as short-sight You may also have astigmatism, […]
Learn more
Eye Terms & Conditions Glossary
You might have heard of the term LASIK eye surgery, but do you know what it means? What about Amblyopia or Esotropia? When researching anything about eye care, eye health, laser eye surgery, or sight loss you are confronted by a long list of vocabulary that you may, or may not, understand. Here at Focus […]
Learn more
Using supplements to maintain eye health
The eye is connected in more ways than one with the rest of the body. When a patient takes a form of medication or vitamin supplements for a systemic condition, ocular effects should be expected whether they are beneficial or risky to your eye health. Read the lists below for more natural approaches to maintaining […]
Learn more
Healthy Vision Month: Can you spot the sun-seeker not wearing any sunglasses?
The summer months are slowly but surely on their way, so what better way to encourage sun-seekers to protect their vision than with a brainteaser with an eye-testing twist? With the sun fighting to get through the clouds, we’ve come up with this eye-boggling brain teaser that asks challengers to spot the sun-seeker that isn’t […]
Learn more
Baby vision: The development of sight from birth
Baby vision! Have you ever looked at a baby and wondered what they are seeing, as they look around their new world with curiosity? It turns out that babies ability to see is perhaps not as strong as you thought, with it taking up to two years for their vision to fully develop. Just like […]
Learn more
How to accentuate your eye colour after laser eye surgery
People choose to have laser eye surgery for a variety of different reasons. To avoid the hassle of glasses and contact lenses, to gain freedom to fully enjoy sporting pursuits or to simply gain a confidence boost. Whatever your motivation, you will probably find that you will be showing off your beautiful eyes for the very […]
Learn more
Astigmatism in children: what are the warning signs?
Astigmatism is a common condition where the cornea or lens of the eye isn’t a perfect curve, causing blurred or distorted vision. Like nearsightedness and farsightedness, astigmatism is a refractive error, meaning it’s not an eye disease or eye health problem - it’s simply a problem with how the eye focuses on light.
Learn more
Why It Might Be Time For Laser Eye Surgery
Are you fed up with wearing glasses? Do you find contact lenses inconvenient to use in your day-to-day life? Are you over 21, in good health, have healthy eyes and have a stable prescription? If you answered yes to all of the above then it might be time to consider laser eye surgery.
Learn more
Does LASIK wear off?
Does LASIK wear off? What do we know about long-term effects of LASIK? It’s been around 25 years – is that really enough time to discern long-term effects? Yes, it would appear so. There are rare changes that have been observed up to 2 years after treatment (and which are treatable), otherwise we haven’t seen any other effects, […]
Learn more
Burning smell during laser eye surgery? Don’t worry, your eyes aren’t burning
Heard of a burning smell during laser eye surgery? Don’t worry your eyes aren’t burning! One of the main myths about laser eye surgery is that the burning smell many experience during their procedure means your eyes are burning. You may have read comments such as “I could smell burning during the treatment” and been […]
Learn more
A blind world: Number of blind people could half with sight-saving surgery
There are approximately 39 million blind people in the world. But did you know that more than half of them needn’t be blind? Their blindness is curable if they could only get the sight-saving surgery they need. Here at Focus, we want to raise awareness of world blindness. Using International Council of Ophthalmology data we have […]
Learn more
Prescription Drugs: What ones are damaging your eyes?
What prescription drugs could be harming our vision? For many years there has been speculation over the side effects of major drugs around the world. Whilst adverse reactions to medical prescription are rare, they can and do appear for some of us, especially when drugs are taken for extended periods of time. The below common […]
Learn more
Scallops: Not just extraordinary in taste but in vision too
Most of us know scallops for being a tasty dish to order in a restaurant, and maybe some of us even know that they are originally in shells. But these underwater clams are far more interesting than we may have thought, as their extraordinary eyesight continues to amaze scientists. Scallops: What do we know about […]
Learn more
Contact lens problems and how to fix them
Serious problems with contact lenses are thankfully rare. However they can crop up when the recommended hygiene procedures aren’t adhered to, or when contact lenses are not ordered through a registered optician.
Learn more
