What is Myopia?
This condition develops when the eyeball grows too long. Light rays aren’t able to focus directly on the retina’s surface, so distant scenes like classroom whiteboards appear blurry.
Cases of childhood myopia, or nearsightedness, are on the rise. About 42% of Americans now have myopia.
Risks:
High myopia can lead to visual impairment and vision loss from glaucoma, cataracts, retinal detachment and choroidal neovascularization (myopic macular degeneration). This public health burden is likely to increase over time, with one study projecting that the prevalence of myopia will increase to 49.8 percent by 2050 and high myopia to increase to 9.8 percent.
Treatments:
Over the past decade, much research has been done on slowing the progression of myopia, and there are now several effective treatment options.
MiSight Soft Contact Lenses:
- Easy to fit, single use lenses
- Suitable for children as young as 8 years old
- MiSight contacts are specifically designed and FDA approved to slow elongation of the eye by using ActivControl technology
Low Dose Atropine:
- What is Atropine? Atropine is used in general medicine, and also as an eye medicine or eye drop. As an eye drop, atropine 1% is used to dilate (enlarge) the pupil and stop the eye’s focusing mechanism, which can be used for testing the vision of young children, treating amblyopia (lazy eye) and also for managing some eye diseases.
- The first studies using atropine eye drops to slow myopia progression in children used 1% atropine, but these had significant side effects – enlarged pupils made a child sensitive to light, and blurred their close-up vision
- Newer studies have investigated lower concentrations of 0.01% up to 0.05%, which have minimal side effects. Atropine eye drops for myopia control are used once per day, at night time.
Orthokeratology/CRT:
- Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) and Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT) are safe, non-surgical and reversible treatments that use specially designed contact lenses to gently reshape the surface of your eye during sleep. This results in clear vision during the day without the need for glasses or contacts. The effect is temporary, so lenses must be worn during sleep each night.
- Your eye doctor will determine which type of corneal reshaping lenses are best for you after examining your eyes. Both treatments are ideal vision correction methods for active children, especially those involved in sports, or children who are genetically prone to having their nearsightedness progress year after year. They are also well suited to many adults whose careers or hobbies are not conducive to wearing glasses or contact lenses.