Would you let your child’s eyes worsen if there was something you could do?
Now there is. It's called myopia control.
Myopia is not just a matter of wearing glasses. It's a children's eye health concern.
The average adult human eye has an axial length — that is, the length of the eyeball from the front surface to the back — is around 23.3mm. An eye with greater than -6.00 degree of myopia has an axial length of 26.5mm or more. Although 3mm doesn't sound like much, that increases the risk of myopic macular degeneration by 41 times, retinal detachment by 22 times and glaucoma by 14 times. These are all eye diseases with the potential for blindness.
There is no “safe” level of myopia, and even low myopia causes structural changes which put patients at increased risk of vision loss
Myopia control is a group of methods used to slow the progression of childhood myopia. There is no cure for myopia, but there are ways to help control how rapidly it develops or progresses.
When standard vision correction is used, like single vision contact lenses or glasses, it has been found that the central part of the image is focused on the retina for clear vision, but the peripheral light rays instead focus behind the retina. Research indicates that this generates a ‘grow faster’ signal for the eye, but the myopic eye in childhood is already growing too quickly.
The principle of myopia control spectacles and contact lenses is to create the opposite profile, by making the peripheral light rays focus in front of the retina. Vision is still clear centrally, but this type of peripheral optical profile generates a ‘slow down’ signal for eye growth. The result is that any slowing of eye growth will similarly slow progression of myopia.
Short-term Goal
Reduces the frequency of prescription changes and helps your child avoid wearing thick and heavy glasses in their lifetime.
Long-term goal
Reduces the risk of eye diseases and vision impairment in adulthood. Also increases the chances they are eligible for LASIK as an adult
There's a big difference!
Myopia correction, which is when an optometrist prescribes ordinary distance glasses to help your child see clearer, is only temporarily masking the condition by fixing the symptoms — blurred vision. What we do is treat the underlying condition that causes the blurred vision — abnormal eye growth and elongation — so that further vision deterioration can be prevented.
Orthokeratology (ortho-k)
Specialty lenses worn overnight that gently reshape the front surface of the eye while sleeping so that your child will not have to wear glasses or contacts during the day!
It is the preferred method for Myopia Control.
Specially designed soft contact lenses
Most soft contact lenses will not control myopia. In fact, there is some concerns that many of them could accelerate the progression of myopia. Only a very specific design of soft contact lenses has been shown to slow down the progression of myopia.
Anti-Myopia glasses
Single vision glasses do not control progression of myopia. There are currently two specialty myopia control spectacle lens designs (Essilor Stellest and Hoya MiYOSMART) that are showing promise but are not yet available in the United States.
Atropine eye drops
We use this option for patients who are unable to do ortho-k or specialty soft contact lenses for various reasons. Low dose Atropine eye drops, 1 drop in each eye every night. Patient will still need to wear regular glasses or contact lenses during the day.
Combination therapy
We use this option for higher risk patients (myopia under age 10, axial length above a certain percentile on Tideman graph, not well controlled with mono-therapy, etc).
Most often, this would be orthokeratology + low dose Atropine eye drops.