The eye has usually stopped growing by the early twenties, so adult care is about three things: sharp and comfortable correction, finding out why a power is still changing, and protecting the retina if the number is high.
Adult myopia is treated with glasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery such as LASIK, SMILE or implantable lenses. These correct the blur but do not shorten the eye. Adults whose power is still rising need the cause checked, and anyone at minus 6.00 or stronger should have a dilated retinal examination every year.
Drag to your prescription. See how far you can see clearly without glasses and which band you are in.
Myopia band
Clear without glasses up to about …
Move the slider to see what the number means.
Based on simple optics: the furthest clear distance is one metre divided by the power. Astigmatism and age change the real-world result.
Glasses are the simplest choice. Thinner high-index lenses keep stronger powers light, and a separate computer pair often helps people who spend the day at a desk.
Contact lenses give a wider field of view and suit sport. Daily disposables carry the lowest infection risk. Irregular corneas and very high powers may need specialty lenses.
Refractive surgery reshapes the cornea or places a lens inside the eye. It is carried out by an ophthalmic surgeon once the power has been stable for at least a year. We do not perform surgery, but we can measure stability and tell you whether a referral makes sense.
Orthokeratology lenses are worn overnight and removed in the morning, giving clear daytime vision without glasses for low to moderate powers.
A small shift in the twenties is common, especially in people who study or work at close range for long hours. Three other causes are worth ruling out:
Power still changing as an adult? An assessment separates true myopia from focusing spasm and other treatable causes.
Slide to your age to see what is typical.
Typical patterns. Individual children and adults vary.
A long eye has a stretched, thinner retina. That raises the lifetime risk of retinal tears and detachment, myopic macular changes and glaucoma. Surgery to remove glasses does not change this, because the eye is still the same length.
Know the warning signs: a sudden shower of floaters, flashes of light, or a curtain or shadow in the side vision. Any of these needs an eye examination the same day. More in our guide to high myopia.
Tap an answer to check what you have been told.
Wearing glasses makes the eyes weaker.
Not true. Correct glasses do not weaken the eyes or speed up myopia. Deliberately under-correcting a child has been shown to make progression slightly faster.
Special lenses can slow a child's power from rising.
True. Myopia control spectacle lenses and contact lenses slowed progression by about half in clinical trials.
Eye exercises can cure myopia.
Not true. Exercises cannot shorten the eye. They help only when a focusing spasm is causing false myopia.
Time outdoors lowers a child's chance of becoming short-sighted.
True. About two hours of daylight a day reduces the risk of myopia starting. Bright light is the reason, not exercise.
After laser surgery, the risks of high myopia are gone.
Not true. Surgery corrects the focus but the eye stays the same length, so the retina still needs regular checks.
Sitting close to the TV causes myopia.
Not true. Sitting close is usually a sign that a child already cannot see clearly. Long hours of any close work do add to the risk.
Answers reflect current published evidence.
A myopia assessment measures the current power, checks how the eyes focus and work together, and sets out the options that fit. In clinic in Chennai and Hyderabad, with online consultations across India.
