The Effect Of Light Technology On The Outcome Of Short Sightedness (Myopia) In An Individual
When objects from a distance appear to be blurred this is called short sightedness, also known as myopia. Myopia is caused by light not reaching the retina (light-sensitive tissue) in the back of the eye properly. The treatment for this refractive error is laser eye surgery. There are 3 types of laser eye surgery which are LASIK, SMILE and surface laser treatments such as PRK, LASEK and TransPRK. SMILE is the latest treatment with the least side effects among others.
In myopia, when the person focuses on a distant object, the eye imaging system doesn’t focus on the object clearly, by default the muscles in the eye contracts, in order to widen the lens to focus on the object but still the object appears blurry. When the object is close enough to the eye, the muscles contract and make the object clear, therefore, the short-sighted person has no difficulty in seeing close objects. In the UK, 1 in 3 people are short-sighted, therefore this has many benefits and limitations in areas such as economics, people’s social life and in the environment. Economically, the benefits are if the patient who has gone through the laser procedure and need further corrections to help his/her vision usually is free of charge, another benefit is that clinics who provide laser services for the eye will profit from the situation. There are disadvantages to this too such as it is expensive and isn’t available to some countries in the world. In the social aspect, the advantages are getting rid of glasses, which may boost the persons self-esteem and confidence, it also gets rid of contacts which reduces eye infections. Limitations to this may include eye dryness after the procedure and overcorrection which might cause other eye problems such as long sightedness. Environmentally, the benefits are fewer road traffic accidents and this procedure requires a few days to recover which means the person can return to work soon. A disadvantage for the environmental aspect is that you might have an infection due to the unclean weather post procedure. Laser surgery has many different benefits and limitations. Benefits are that this will correct your sight and will get rid of glasses and contacts. Disadvantages such as dryness of the eyes after the procedure, discomfort of the eye and visual disturbances which can be treated easily.’
Since UAE is a cosmopolitan country with many nationalities, short sightedness is common among the people who are residents in UAE. For that reason, the UAE health system implemented many specialized clinics in laser eye procedure to overcome this problem. Throughout the UAE population, there is a percentage of people with low income that cannot afford laser eye surgery such as laborers, many of them are drivers and can cause accidents due to this problem and will not be able to use the laser procedure as their primary treatment and this reflects internationally.
In conclusion, laser eye surgery has made a huge impact around the world, nearly erasing refractive errors in the eye.
