The long and the short of it

Short-sighted

Much the most common problem in young people is caused by being short sighted which occurs in about one in seven young people aged 15.

if you are short sighted (or myopic) it means that things that are far away look blurred but things close to look ‘in focus’. Nobody quite understands why, but it is more common in young people who do well at school.

It can also cause young people problems in class and may also intefere with daily living and sports. Though the problems it causes are usually mild and many teenagers opt not to wear glasses even though it improves how well they can see. On the other hand if the symptoms are very bad, they may interfere with career prospects, so it is certainly worthwhile seeing an expert.

Long-sighted

A much smaller number of young people suffer from long sightedness, when you can see things far away – for example, the number of an approaching bus, but the words in a book or magazine close to look dodgy or blurred. This problem is much more common in old people

Both these problems are easily corrected using glasses or contact lenses so if you have ANY worries about seeing properly it is worth getting your eyes tested.

Out of focus
Eye tests
Eye test chart