What is Myopia?

Near-sightedness, or myopia, is the result of an optical imbalance in the eye where the focal point does not fall exactly on the retina but lies in front of it instead. That is why a far away object will appear blurry unless it is brought nearer to the eye so as to move the focal point onto the retina.

As a child with myopia grows, their eyeballs become more elongated, causing that focal point to move further and further in front of the retina, and as a result, this child will continue to require stronger glasses.

Besides needing stronger glasses prescriptions, this child is put at a significantly higher risk for cataracts, retinal detachments, glaucoma, and macular degeneration later on in life compared to someone without myopia. The stronger the myopia, the higher the risk for developing these pathologies. This is why many eye care professionals are now implementing “myopia control” in their practices.

 

     

Myopia Control

The most effective management options available in Canada to slow down myopia progression in children include low-dose atropine eye drops, specialized MiSight or Abiliti soft contact lenses, MiYOSMART spectacle lenses, and orthokeratology (ortho-k) rigid contact lenses.

Your child’s optometrist may recommend (a) specific method(s) of myopia control for your child based on their risk factors, individual characteristics, and comfort level of the different treatment methods.

Therapy Plan

After reviewing the different treatment options to manage myopia progression with your child’s optometrist, you will have the option to proceed with myopia control. By monitoring the length of the eyeball and how fast it is growing compared to how fast it should be growing for their age, we can confirm the effectiveness of the treatment.  The course of therapy will last a minimum of 2 years. After the second year, treatment may be stopped if there is a good response (i.e. less than a 0.25 D increase over one year), depending on the age of your child and specific myopia risk factors, with the option to restart treatment if an increase in myopia occurs. Regardless of treatment method selected, a dilated eye assessment is required prior to starting treatment, then yearly while on treatment.

Although all these treatment methods have demonstrated slowing of myopia progression in various clinical studies, children may respond better to some treatment options over others. If progression continues at more than a 0.75 D increase in the second year, your child’s optometrist may suggest alternate myopia control options.

Typical follow up appointments to monitor progression are at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, then at 6-month intervals.

After discontinuation of myopia control treatment, your child will continue to be monitored for myopia progression at 6-month intervals for 1 year. If no further progression is noted, we will resume yearly eye examinations until the end of adolescence. If progression of myopia is noted again, myopia control may be resumed until myopia demonstrates stability.

 

Additional Resources:

• Nearsightedness: What Is Myopia?    https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/myopia-nearsightedness#treatment