Have you ever wondered how people who wear glasses see when they don’t have their glasses on? People who are myopic can be very dependent on their glasses or contact lenses to function. Myopia means a patient is nearsighted – they see better upclose without their glasses on.
How Someone with Myopia Sees Without Glasses:
- Distance Vision: Anything from beyond approximately arms length will be blurry.. The amount of blurriness will vary based on how strong of a correction the person needs.
- Mild Myopia (-00D to -2.00D): Objects can still be seen, but fine details are blurry.
- Moderate Myopia (-00D to -5.00D): Objects are now very blurred and details are lost.
- High Myopia (-6.00D and higher): Can only see large objects but not details. Functioning without glasses for any distance activity (beyond 1 foot) is very difficult.
- Near Vision: People with myopia maintain their near vision without glasses but the focal point will vary based on the amount of myopia. The higher the correction, the closer people need to hold items to see clear.
- Mild Myopia (-00D to -2.00D): Objects are in best focus between 2-3 feet.
- Moderate Myopia (-00D to -5.00D): The near point will be closer. Objects will be most at 12 inches for someone who is a -3.00 vs 8 inches if you’re a -5.00.
- High Myopia (-6.00D and higher): The focal point is now very close and people will need to hold things a few inches from their face to see it clearly.
Having a high level of near sightedness can be quite debilitating if you don’t have glasses or contact lenses. There are also surgeries to help correct near sightedness including laser surgeries like LASIK or PRK, implantable contact lenses or if patients are older, a refractive lens exchange or even cataract surgery. If you have questions about your vision options, give us a call to make an appointment.
