What is Myopia?
Myopia is the inability to see things clear at a far distance. It is also called nearsightedness. Myopia occurs when the eye
grows too long from front to back, causing light to focus in front of the retina in the back of the eye instead of directly on it.
What Are the Symptoms Of Myopia?
- Needing to squint to see objects in the distance
- Needing to sit closer to the TV or in the classroom
- Being unaware of objects in the distance
- Excessive blinking
- Needing to rub your eyes frequently to see objects in the distance more clearly
Myopia Progression Treatments
Myopia treatments are designed to prevent your child's eyes from continueing to lengthen, and therefore, minimizing increases in myopic presctipion as they get older. All of the below treatments have been proven to accomplish this goal. The American Optometric Association has adopted early intervention treatments as the standard of care for children starting to develop myopia
Overnight orthokeratology contact lenses
- This involves wearing specially designed orthokeratology contact lenses while sleeping overnight as the method of nearsighted correction. Successfully fit orthokeratology lenses are removed upon awakening and provide clear uncorrected vision throughout the day.
Low dose atropine
- This involves instillation of a daily medicated eye drop in each eye. Research shows low concentration (0.01% to 0.05%) atropine has slowed myopia progression by about 60 percent without significant side effects as with higher concentration atropine (such as increasing pupil size or decreasing near vision). These eye drops are also sometimes used in combination with the above contact lenses to better slow myopic progression.
MiSight® 1 day Contact Lenses:
- The MiSight® 1 day daily disposable contact lens is currently the only FDA approved treatment in the United States for slowing the progression of myopia. The MiSight® 1 day contact lens, which is supported by CooperVision’s Brilliant Futures program, was found to slow the progression of myopia by 59% during the study that supported this product’s approval.
Daily wear multifocal soft contact lenses
- This involves wearing multifocal soft contact lenses during the daytime only as the method of nearsighted correction. The FDA has approved the use of these lenses for the purpose of myopia control.
