Myopia Which treatment makes sense

Myopia - methods in check

10/10/2013

Reading traffic signs early, recognizing a friend on the other side of the street or finding the car in the crowded parking garage - for short-sighted people this is virtually impossible without visual aid. You will find it difficult to see from a distance of a few meters. In ophthalmological values, myopia is reflected in a minus sign before the dioptric number. It used to be obvious for short-sighted people to wear glasses. For many, this is no longer an option today for practical and aesthetic reasons. You are spoiled for choice: contact lenses, laser surgery, lens implantation or so-called night lenses - all methods promise freedom from glasses. For whom is which method suitable? Kaweh Schayan-Araghi, medical director of the Artemis Eye Clinic Frankfurt.

Contact lenses - a good option despite the high care required
If you are bothered by the glasses or you just do not get used to them, contact lenses are a good alternative. In contrast to glasses, they do not restrict the field of vision, are virtually invisible and often do not interfere with sports. Temperature differences and rain can not harm them. However, many find the constant insertion and removal and the enormous care effort annoying. Contact lenses also cause great problems due to incompatibilities. „Sensitive patients who are prone to allergies or who perceive the lenses as foreign objects in the eye should refrain from using this remedy better“, advises Dr. Schayan-Araghi. Cost: depending on the type between 20 and 100 EUR per month.

LASIK - up to -8 diopters safe procedure
In LASIK, the inner surface of the cornea is treated by means of a cold-light laser. LASIK is considered the method of choice to correct myopia to minus eight diopters. „For an eye laser correction in question, the cornea of ​​the patient must not be too thin. For young people under the age of 18, laser treatment is generally unsuitable as their eyes may still change“, explains Dr. Schayan-Araghi. New developments such as femto-LASIK have also made the procedure safer in recent years. This also allows corrections for thin cornea. After surgery, patients no longer need visual aids. Costs: once from € 2,200 to € 2,500 per eye.

Implanted lenses - suitable for extreme myopia
To enable more short-sighted people to live without glasses, doctors use art lenses that correct nearsightedness down to minus 16 dioptres. In doing so, they eye their eyes in addition to their own lens. The natural ability of the eye to tune sharply to different distances is maintained in this procedure as in LASIK. For the procedure already sufficient a pinhead sized cut. „Since no tissue is removed here, lens implants are also suitable for people with very thin corneas“, so Dr. Schayan-Araghi. To treat extreme nearsightedness of up to -24 diopters, physicians use combined lens replacement and LASIK procedures. Costs: one-time 2,000 to 2,500 euros per eye.

Night Lenses - up to -6 dioptres Short-acting procedure
For some time, there are also special contact lenses for the slightly short-sighted, which deform the cornea overnight so that no glasses are necessary during the day. The dimensionally stable lenses are individually adapted to the eye and are considered a safe procedure. „Because the cornea gradually returns to its original shape, the effect usually lasts only a few hours“, commented Schayan-Araghi. In addition, night lenses only correct myopia to -6 dioptres. Cost: once around 200 EUR, then monthly about 50 EUR. (Pm)