MYOPIA CONTROL

Understanding Myopia

Myopia, or short-sightedness, has become much more prevalent world-wide in recent years. It occurs when light is focussed in front of your retina instead of on your retina, meaning that objects in the distance are blurred, such as when driving or watching television. Close vision, such as when reading, remains clear. There are many well known risk factors for myopia development, both genetic and environmental, and your optometrist will spend some time looking at these.

Myopia typically starts during childhood, and is a progressive condition. It usually stabilises around the time when children finish growing. In fact, the younger the child when myopia starts, the more chance a child has of developing high levels of myopia, which persist into adulthood.

What are the symptoms of myopia?

Distance vision becomes blurred
Moving closer to the TV
Reduced performance at school
Complaints of headaches
Tired eyes
Squinting or screwing eyes up

Myopia is not just a vision issue – it is an eye health issue too!

It is a well-known fact that there is a higher risk of eye disease in adulthood, with higher levels of myopia. Retinal detachment, cataract, myopic macular degeneration and glaucoma are all increasingly more likely with higher levels of myopia.

Correcting versus managing myopia

Myopia needs correcting, usually in the form of spectacles or contact lenses, in order to provide clear distance vision. Current research has taught us that it is super important to both correct vision, and also actively manage myopia, in order to slow the progression of myopia. This is especially true in children, because:

Children with higher levels of advanced myopia become adults with increased risks of serious sight threatening eye diseases such as retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataracts and myopic macular degeneration
Increased dependency on spectacles occurs with higher prescriptions, and lifestyle and participation in certain activities may be affected by this.

More than just glasses to see the board

Fresh Vision Optometrists are excited to offer patients a range of options to slow myopia progression. We will work with you to decide which option best suits each child, and their lifestyle. In this clinic, the main options available include:

Multifocal spectacles – MiyoSmart Spectacle Lenses, using the lates Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (D.I.M.S.) Technology

li>Multifocal soft contact lenses such as Cooper Vision MiSight contact lenses or NaturalVue contact lenses

Multifocal soft contact lenses such as Cooper Vision MiSight contact lenses or NaturalVue contact lenses
Orthokeratology contact lenses
Low dose atropine eye drops

What next?

Has your child has been diagnosed with myopia or you think they may have myopia symptoms? Make an appointment with our optometrists to find out more information on treatment options available.

Learn more about Child Myopia, including using a Myopia Vision Simulator, by clicking here.