BY KOH SHER LYNN
Short-sightedness, also known as myopia in medical term, is on the rise especially among young adult.
SELANGOR: Did you find it difficult when looking somethings that is far away from you? If yes, you might be short-sighted. Let’s explore the public’s opinion regarding to the short-sightedness issue.
Research has mentioned that Asian is easier to suffer short-sighted compare with European. In Malaysia, the population of short-sighted among Chinese is higher than Malay and Indian and it also stated that lack of outdoor activity and insufficient sleep will lead to short-sighted.
Is it an illness?
First and foremost, do you think short-sightedness is an illness? ‘‘Yes, because it will lead to blindness,’’ said Lim En Yi, 21, a APU student. Also, another interviewee think that short-sightedness is an illness since eyes are part of human organ, short-sightedness means there is a defect in your eye that cause you can’t see the object clearly and need treatment such as wearing glasses or laser surgery. However, some interviewees do not think that short-sightedness is a serious problem which can be considered as an illness. They thought it is a minor problem that can be solved by wearing glasses and people would not realize that short-sightedness is existing in their daily life after wearing glasses.
Lim En Yi
21 years old
Student from APU
Being short-sighted almost 1 year
Degree of short-sighted: around 150
Relation between study environment and short-sightedness
There is research from Chinese weekly mentioned the population of short-sighted among Chinese is higher than Malay and Indian in Malaysia. Therefore, the news has concluded that study environment such as insufficient sleep and lack of outdoor activity will lead to short-sightedness. Two of the interviewees agreed to this research as one of them diagnosed with short-sightedness after experiencing work overtime during internship while another interviewee explained that outdoor activity is able to let you more looking at green things which can help to protect your eyes. However, the remaining interviewee disagree to the research. ‘‘I always burn the midnight oil to watch drama but still not being short-sighted,’’ said Yang Na, 22, international student from China. After that, APU student Lim En Yi, 21, who is strongly disagree to the research due to her own experience. ‘‘I have enough sleep and always got outdoor activity, but I still got short-sighted,’’ she stated.
Yang Na
22 years old
International student from China
Not being short-sighted
Effects of short-sightedness
Short-sightedness may bring some troubles in our daily life. The most obvious downside is that someone with short-sighted will be anxiety if they lose their glasses since it will make their world become blur and can’t see the far object clearly. Furthermore, ‘‘it is inconvenience to wear glasses when eating something that is hot or going out from the air conditional room,’’ said Hou Yi, 22, a design student. This is because the glasses can be a hassle as it will fog up. Nevertheless, there is one interviewee said that short-sightedness has not much affected on her daily life, except when driving. At the same time, there is one interviewee bring put the positive impact of being short-sighted which is able to ignore or pretend not to see someone you don’t want to say hello to.
Hou Yi
22 years old
Design student
Being short-sighted between 7-8 years
Degree of short-sighted: between 200-250
Consideration of wearing contact lens
Instead of wearing glasses, people with short-sighted also suggested to wear contact lens. Among the interviewee, none of them said that they would consider to wear contact lens in the future. Some people don’t consider to wear contact lens because they are afraid of putting the contact lens into their eyes and one of them is worried about the safety problem such as bacterial infection. Apart from the fear factor, consumption of time and money on finding a suitable contact lens could be the reason why some people don’t consider wearing contact lens.
Myth about short-sightedness
People without short-sighted often believe that people with short-sighted can’t survive without wearing glasses. Actually, people who suffer from short-sightedness are not blind, they just see things blurred. In this case, the clarity of vision correlates with the degree of short-sightedness but it also depends on the distance and size of the object. Another misconception is that people with short-sighted will wear their glasses 24 hours in a day since it would be terrible when people are not able to see things clearly. However, this is not always the case. Student Wong Sin Wei, 21, who was short-sighted but don’t wear glasses all the time. ‘‘I don’t wear glasses when eating because I enjoy the hazy version,’’ she said.
Wong Sin Wei
21 years old
Media student
Being short-sighted between 11-12 years
Degree of short-sighted: between 100-200
What if I am short-sighted?
Don’t worry, it is not over yet. Interior Designer Yeo Hsiau Yu, 21, who has a positive perspective on short-sightedness problem. ‘‘It is still salvageable,’’ she said. She advised people who just diagnosed with short-sightedness to improve their lifestyle habit such as eating more fruits or foods that are good for the eyes and getting enough sleep. Other interviewees also highlighted that it is important to take good care of your eyes and don’t make it become worsen. In addition, one of the interviewees said that her degree of short-sightedness has decreased spontaneously without making any external changes. Hence, she believed that short-sightedness can sometimes be self-corrected.
Yeo Hsiau Yu
21 years old
Interior designer
Being short-sighted almost 8 months
Degree of short-sighted: around 50
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