To understand nearsightedness, you need to understand how an eye works. In an eye of someone with perfect vision, the eyeball is the right shape and depth so that the focused beams of light that enter the front of the eye focus on one spot, directly on the retina. This allows for crisp, focused vision.

People who are nearsighted have eyeballs that are longer in shape. Their retinas are farther away from the focal point of the light. Basically, the light is focusing before it gets to the eye.

Eyeglasses and contacts refract or bend the light entering the eye so that it focuses where it is supposed to.

Laser surgery can correct nearsightedness because the portion of the eye that is removed during surgery is enough to alter the depth of the eye, essentially making the eye slightly shorter. This allows the light to focus where it would have in the first place.

Learn more about this author, Carla Jean.
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