More than 70 million people in North America (about one in four) are nearsighted.  Myopia is the medical term for nearsightedness.  I occurs when your eye is too long in relation to the curvature of you comea.  Myopia causes light rays entering the eye to focus in front of the retina, producing a blurred image.

The term "nearsighted" means that you can see objects that are "near" to you more clearly than distant objects.  the more myopic you are, the more blurred distant objects appear, the higher your prescription in diopters and the thicker your glasses.

The table below shows the categories of severity for myopia:

Mild Myopia <-3.00 dopters
Moderate Myopis -3.00 to -6.00 diopters
Severe Myopia -6.00 to -9.00 diopters
Extreme Myopia > -9.00 diopters

Every patient and prescription at South Coast Laser is looked at individually to decide what is best for them. South Coast Laser doctors are very prudent and thorough in deciding whether you are a good candidate for laser vision correction and and will be happy to discuss the potential outcome and risks involved for a patient with your particular prescription.