Myopia Management

Myopia Management
Your child and short-sightedness

Don’t let their prescription limit their ambition. What is short-sightedness? Short-sightedness, or myopia, typically starts in childhood and usually requires glasses or contact lenses to see the detail on a whiteboard or the TV, for example.¹ An example below is what a school classroom looks like to a short-sighted child.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be short-sighted,
our vision simulator helps to give some answers.

How short-sightedness progress

A child with short-sightedness may need a stronger prescription as they continue to grow.² Prescription changes happen at a different rate for each child, so regular eye examinations are important to ensure they can see clearly. Stronger prescriptions mean thicker glasses and children will become more and more reliant on them to see. While this is inconvenient, it may also lead to an increased risk of future eye health problems such as retinal detachments and myopic macular degeneration.³

See an example below of estimated progression of Myopia for illustration purposes only.

Causes of short-sightedness Short-sightedness is most commonly caused by the eye growing too long. Certain factors make a child more likely to become short-sighted, such as:⁴

Family history

Children who have short-sighted parents are more likely to inherit the condition. In fact, if both parents are short-sighted, there’s a 50% chance their children will be short-sighted too.⁶

Not enough time outdoors

Spending more time outdoors may help delay the onset of shortsightedness. ⁵ Sunlight stimulates the production of vitamin D and dopamine, which are linked to healthy eye development.^7,8 Experts recommend a minimum of 10 hours outdoors each week – about 90 minutes a day.⁹

Too much time focusing on nearby objects

Modern lifestyles mean we spend more time focusing our eyes on nearby objects such as phones and tablets. It’s important to be mindful that activities such as computer use, reading and watching TV increase the chance of developing short-sightedness.⁶

How can we help?
Although there is currently no cure for myopia, we are able to fit your child with contact lenses that may slow down the progression of Myopia. Our eye care practitioners have extensive experience in myopia management and can advise suitable treatment tailored specifically for your child.

Optomeyes Eyecare is delighted to offer specialist Myopia Management contact lenses for children. Dual focus contact lenses Dual focus contact lenses, such as MiSight® 1 day are worn during the day to correct vision and slow down the progression of short-sightedness in children. MiSight® 1 day is just like a soft daily disposable contact lens but with a special optical design, proven to slow down the speed at which short-sightedness progresses.¹²

Contact Lenses designed for children

MiSight® 1 day is a daily disposable contact lens designed for children so they can get the dual benefit of clear, spectacle-free vision and the possibility of slowing down prescription changes by 59% on average.¹²

We now offer the Brilliant Futures™ Myopia Management Programme from CooperVision which includes the proven MiSight® 1 day contact lenses providing you with information, support and regular assessment. The programme is specially designed to maximise the success of slowing down your child’s short sightedness. Children as young as 8 can successfully wear contact lenses¹² and tell us they:¹³

Feel more competent when taking part in sport and other physical activities

Feel better about their appearance

Feel better about fitting in with their friends

Reference
1. Zadnick K, et al. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2015 Jun; 133(6): 683–689. 2. Walline JJ, et al. Cochrane Database of System Rev. 2020;1:CD004916 3. Tideman J, et al. JAMA Opthalmol. 2016;134:1355-1363 4. McCullough SJ, et al. PLoS ONE. 2016;11: e0146332 5. Wolffsohn JS, et al. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2016;39:106–116 6. Morgan P. Is Myopia Control the Next Contact Lens Revolution? The Optician 2016. Available at: www.opticianonline.net/cet-archive/12 7. Accessed August 2020 7. Yazar et al. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2014 Jun 26;55(7):4552-9. 8. Feldkaemper M & Schaeffel F. Exp Eye Res. 2013 Sep;114:106-19. 9. WHO. The impact of increasing prevalence of myopia and high myopia. A Report of the Joint World Health Organisation (2015). Available at:www.who.int/blindness/causes/

MyopiaReportforWeb.pdf. Accessed August 2020. 10. Gifford P & Gifford, K. Optom Vis Sci. 2016;93:336–343. 11. The College of Optometrists. Myopia management. Available at: www.college-optometrists.org/ the college/policy/myopia-management.html. Accessed August 2020 12. Chamberlain P, et al. Optom Vis Sci. 2019;96:556–567. 13. Walline JJ, Jones LA, Sinnott L, et al. Randomized trial of the effect of contact lens wear on self-perception in children. Optom Vis Sci. 2009;86(3):222-232. 14. CVI Data on File 2019.

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