Myopia Management
What is Myopia?
Myopia (or near sightedness) is an eye condition where a person cannot see distance well. Conventional treatment is to wear glasses or standard contacts to see far away. Unfortunately, glasses and standard contact lenses do nothing to prevent myopia from worsening.
Myopia is becoming more and more common among developing children. By 2050, we expect almost half of the American population will be near sighted.
Children at risk for progressive myopia:
1. Those with parents who are near sighted
2. Excessive device use (> 2 hrs a day)
3. Lack of outdoor play
4. During growth spurts
What Can Be Done?
Once Myopia begins in a child, it cannot be reversed. However, it can be managed and the progression can be slowed down. By the time your child reaches adulthood, the goal of Myopia Management is to prevent large amounts of near sightedness and thick glasses which they are reliant on for the rest of their lives.
There is over 20 years of solid scientific research in this area of Myopia. We have found that if you treat your child early, we can decrease the near sightedness by almost 60%.
Myopia Management consists of specialty contact lenses worn by your child which change the focal points in the eye, thus decreases the progression over time.
Why Does Myopia Matter
Increased myopia:
1. Reduces the quality of life
2. Reduces the ability to play sports
3. Reduces the ability to see well at night while driving
4. Chains people to thick glasses or thick contacts lenses. (Thicker contacts are linked to higher complications of eye health.)
5. May reduce chances of getting LASIK in the future if myopia is too high
6. Causes eye diseases later in adult life (macular disease, glaucoma, retinal detachments, and more)
How to Reduce Myopia
There are safe ways to reduce Myopia in your child through the use of specialty contact lenses. These contact lenses can either be worn at night while your child sleeps or be worn during the day.
Specialty contacts worn at night are called orthokeratology (or ortho-k). There are many manufacturers of ortho-k. These lenses gently and temporarily reshape the cornea while your child sleeps and corrects the vision. Which in turn reduces the near sightedness. When your child wakes, the lenses are taken out and your child will not need to wear any glasses or contacts during the day. This method is used for various types of prescriptions and is ideal for parents and children who want clear vision during the day without the hassle of wearing glasses or contacts during the day.
Specialty contacts worn during the day are called MiSight, a soft silicone contact which change the focal point reaching the eye. Which in turn reduces near sightedness. These contacts can only be used in limited prescriptions. Your child will need to wear contacts during the day to see well.
Where’s The Research
Some of Dr. Cooper's Favorite
Peer Reviewed Studies:
1. Myopia control: Why each diopter matters. Bullimore, M. A., & Brennan, N. A. (2019). Optometry and Vision Science, 96(6), 463–465.
2. Corneal reshaping and myopia progression. Walline, J. J., Jones, L., & Sinnott, L. T. (2009). British Journal of Ophthalmology, 93(9), 1181–1185.
3. Efficacy comparison of 16 interventions for myopia control in children. Huang, J., Wen, D., Wang, Q., McAlinden, C., Flitcroft, I., Chen, H., Saw, S. M., Chen, H., Bao, F., Zhao, Y., Hu, L., Li, X., Gao, R., Lü, W., Du, Y., Jinag, Z., Yu, A., Lian, H., Jiang, Q., . . . Qu, J. (2016). Ophthalmology, 123(4), 697–708.
4. Contact Lens Assessment in Youth (CLAY) Study Design and Baseline Data. Lam, D. Y., Kinoshita, B. T., Jansen, M. E., Mitchell, L., Chalmers, R. L., Richdale, K., Sorbara, L., & Wagner, H. (2010). Investigative Journal of Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 51(13), 1529.
5. A 3-year randomized clinical trial of MiSight lenses for myopia control. Chamberlain, P., Peixoto-De-Matos, S. C., Logan, N. S., Ngo, C., Jones, D., & Young, G. P. (2019). Optometry and Vision Science, 96(8), 556–567.
Some of Dr. Cooper's Favorite
Informative Websites:
How Does it Work?
Myopia is mostly caused by a lengthening of the eyeball itself. When the eyeball is longer, then the focal point does not quite reach the back of the eye. Then glasses or standard contacts are needed to move the focal point to the back of the eye to see clearly. As the eye continues to elongate, the prescription gets larger and larger to move the focal point farther back to reach the back of the eye.
Essentially in both types of specialty lenses, ortho-k or MiSight, both create a "peripheral defocus." The central focal points are moved to the back of the eye so a person can see, only the peripheral focal points of vision are defocused where the focal points are place in front of the back of the eye.
When the peripheral focal points are not focused on the back of the eye, the eye slows it's elongation which in turn slows the Myopia.