Why regular eye evaluations is necessary
Slowing the progression of myopia has become a considerable concern for parents of myopic children. At the same time, clinical science is rapidly advancing the knowledge about methods to slow myopia progression.
Over the past few years, much has been learned about how to slow the progression of nearsightedness in children, but we still have a lot to learn.
Spending a significant amount of time indoors at a young age can impact the eye’s development. This can cause the eye to grow too long, which changes the focus of light entering the eye and causes far-away objects to appear blurry.
The new normal…
Personally I feel that people are better educated about myopia and all the treatment options there is to offer at the moment. We as clinicians are at a place now where we can start to do a 3 to 4 year follow up of patients who are on different myopia treatment options and we do see stabilization of the prescription in most of these patients.
Early detection of myopia is of uttermost importance and prevention is always better than cure. Preventative therapy for myopia progression currently has three aims:
- to screen patients with risk factors for myopia progression,
- to stabilize myopic progression,
- and to provide optical correction for healthy visual development.
We take hands with Ophthalmologists to get the best treatment option and a way to closely monitor our patients.
Measurement of the axial length is also guiding us in this process of monitoring myopia. (A normal axial eye length is 23 to 23.5mm, with males showing 0.5mm longer eyes than females. Myopia tends to occur with axial length over 24mm, and if it gets to more than 26mm this dramatically increases the risk of vision problems in adulthood)
The International of Myopia Institute (IMI) Clinical Management Guidelines recommend that axial length measurements be taken every six months if available, however, should a myope appear to be progressing faster, you may wish to shorten the review period to 3 months.
Myopia symptoms and management
Myopia progression causes
- Increasingly blurred vision
- The need for frequent changes in spectacle or contact lens prescription
- Increased risk of eye diseases and vision problems over a person’s lifetime
'Myopia control' has become the increasingly adopted term to describe the use of treatments aimed to slow progression of myopia. These treatments include special types of spectacle lenses (glasses), soft contact lenses, ortho-k and atropine eye drops.
Myopia control is particularly important for children, because this is the stage in life when myopia is most likely to progress or worsen quickly. With myopia management we will also discuss other lifestyle and environmental factors which can trigger myopia progression, and also managing eye health.
Risks to vision if untreated
While mild myopia can generally be treated with glasses or contact lenses, in extreme cases if the condition is not managed properly over time, it can put patients at risk for a number of vision-threatening conditions.
Concerns of high myopia include:
- myopic macular degeneration (MMD),
- choroidal neovascularization,
- retinal detachments
- glaucoma
- and cataracts.
What can you do as a parent to reduce myopia progression?
Although myopia can be triggered by genetics, it can also develop because of environmental factors such as limited time spent outdoors and increased time indoors doing activities such as activities on electronics.
Breaks from learning on electronics or even reading printed books could be helpful. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that after 20 minutes of near-work on a digital screen, children should look at an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
Schedule you or your child’s appointment today at any of our Spectacle Warehouse branches to get updated with all the myopic treatment options we have to offer.