.png)
Myopia Management
1300 12 12 88
Myopia Control
Myopia or short-sightedness is a common eye condition in both adults and children that makes distance vision blurry. It normally starts in childhood and gets progressively worse until the child stops growing.
Currently myopia affects around 80 million children around the world and this figure is set to rise sharply by 2050.
Signs to look out for
-
Distance vision starting to become blurry
-
Moving closer to TV
-
Tired eyes
-
Squinting
-
Complaint of headaches
-
Reduced performance at school
-
Sometimes no signs at all
What causes myopia?
1. Genetics
The risk of myopia in children increases when parents are myopic. The risk is nearly 4x.
​
2. Lifestyle
Modern lifestyle may influence the development of myopia such as
-
Low levels of outdoor activity
-
Prolonged near work such as reading and gaming on portable devices
-
Poor lighting levels
Why is Myopia a concern for children?
Myopia is associated with an increased risk of eye disease in adult life. These include increased risk of cataract, glaucoma, macular disease, and retinal detachment. The higher the myopia the higher the risk. That’s why it is a concern as childhood myopia is known to be progressive until young adult life. It’s not just correcting it with glasses or contact lenses but using proven methods to delay the myopia progression.
How is myopia treated?
Traditionally, myopia is corrected with single vision contact lenses or spectacles. This corrects the distance blur but does not help to slow the progression of myopia. There is an abundance of evidence based research of therapies to slow the progression of myopia.
The main therapies are
-
Orthokeratology: the use of hard contact lenses worn at night to reshape the cornea (the front of the eye) to provide clear vision and myopia control benefits.
-
Soft multifocal contact lenses: worn during the day and use the same principle as Ortho-k to slow myopia progression
-
Specialized spectacle lenses for myopia control: there are a number of options including Miyosmart, Multifocal and bifocal.
-
Medical Therapy: special compounded eye drops that are used at night, glasses or contact lenses are still worn during the day.
What needs to be done?
-
Reduce screen time
-
Have children spend at least 90 min outdoors daily
-
Take breaks every 45 min when on screens/reading
-
Good optimal lighting
-
3 to 6 monthly axial length measurements to measure the efficacy of treatment
-
Regular 6 monthly eye examinations with your optometrist who is up to date with the latest research for myopia in children