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They may have a six times higher risk if both parents are nearsighted.īut recent studies show strong evidence that lifestyle factors may also cause myopia. Near work activities (like reading and digital screen time)Ī person may have a three times higher risk of nearsightedness if one of their parents is nearsighted. The development and progression of myopia at this age are influenced by several factors, including: The peak years of myopia progression are often in early childhood. In rare cases, the lens may move too close to the cornea. The eyeball may become too long, or the curve of the cornea or lens may become too steep. When this happens, the eyes develop past emmetropia and toward myopia. At this point, most children have low hyperopia, and only a small percentage have myopia. This is because the eyes are still too short from front to back at birth.Īs the child grows, the emmetropization process continues until around age 6 to 8. Most children are born farsighted (hyperopia).
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When there is no refractive error in the eyes, this is called emmetropia.
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During this time, the shape of the cornea and lens and the length of the eye come into balance to produce clear vision. In the first years of life, children’s eyes grow and develop rapidly. Small variations in any of these factors can cause myopia. The location of the lens and the cornea relative to each other inside the eye This makes distant objects look blurry.Ī few different factors contribute to focusing light properly onto the retina: Myopia (nearsightedness) occurs when the eye focuses light rays in front of the retina, instead of on the retina.
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