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Questions about Myopia Management?

Myopia Control

If your child has myopia (nearsightedness) and needs to wear correction to see clearly at distance, you are probably wondering if there is a cure — or at least something that can be done to slow down the progression.  Until now, it has been commonplace for your child to need stronger glasses year after year.

For years, eye care practitioners and researchers have been wondering the same thing. And there is good news: Several recent studies suggest that it may be possible to control myopia by slowing down its progression during the childhood and teenage years.

Children of myopic parents are at a greater risk of developing near-sightedness.  In today’s learning environment, there has been a greater emphasis on the use of digital media.  In the past, myopia would generally start at the age of 12 and progress until the age of 18.  Today, it is quite common for children to develop myopia at much younger ages and progress through the college years, and the annual increase in prescription lens strength has increased as well.

Early childhood eye exams are especially important if you or your spouse are nearsighted; a child with one nearsighted parent is three times more likely to be nearsighted and a child with two nearsighted parents is six times more likely to develop nearsightedness.  The earlier we know if your child is nearsighted, the better the outcomes will be.

WHY USE MYOPIA CONTROL?

Although an outright cure for nearsightedness has not yet been discovered, we can now offer several treatments that may be able to slow down the progression of myopia.

Why should you be interested in myopia control?  By slowing down the progression of myopia, it may keep your child from developing high levels of nearsightedness that have been associated with serious eye problems later in life, such as early cataracts, glaucoma, myopic macular degeneration, or even a detached retina.

Currently, there are three major treatment options showing promise for controlling myopia:

  • Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) / Corneal reshaping therapy
  • Multifocal contact lenses (soft or hybrid)
  • Atropine eye drops

ORTHOKERATOLOGY / CORNEAL RESHAPING THERAPY (CRT)

Orthokeratology, or corneal reshaping therapy, is the use of specially designed gas permeable contact lenses that are worn while sleeping at night.  These lenses apply gentle pressure and reshape the front surface of the eye (the cornea), and temporarily correct nearsightedness, so that glasses and contact lenses are not needed during waking hours.

Evidence shows that nearsighted kids who undergo several years of orthokeratology end up with less myopia as adults, compared with children who wear eyeglasses or regular contact lenses during the peak years.

MULTIFOCAL SOFT / HYBRID CONTACT LENSES

Multifocal contacts are special lenses that have different powers in different zones of the lens, and they were used in the past to correct presbyopia as well as nearsightedness or farsightedness (with or without astigmatism).

In November 2013, researchers in the U.S. published the results of a two-year study that revealed nearsighted children who wore multifocal soft contact lenses daily had 50 percent less progression of their myopia, compared with similarly nearsighted children who wore regular soft contact lenses for two years.

In November 2019, MiSight daily contact lens became the first and only contact lens that is FDA approved to slow the myopia progression in children, and it showed 59% of efficacy in slowing down the progression of myopia.

ATROPINE EYE DROPS

Atropine eye drops have been used for myopia control for many years, with effective short-term results.

Research has suggested that nearsightedness in children may be linked to focusing fatigue.  Investigators have looked into using atropine to disable the eye’s focusing system in order to control myopia.  Results of studies of atropine eye drops to control myopia progression have been impressive — at least for the first year of treatment.

Consult our myopia control specialists; Dr. Mark Marciano & Dr. Albert Wu if your children are struggling with their vision due to nearsightedness.  They are certified in myopia control and have been helping patients slow down the progression of myopia while maintaining good vision and quality of life.