Managing Myopia: Best Practices

If you or your child have been diagnosed with myopia, you may have heard your eye doctor mentioning something called myopia management. As its name suggests, this is a treatment that is carried out with a focus on keeping myopia levels under control, which is important because myopia is a progressive condition.

Myopia management is primarily recommended for children, as the sooner that myopia is controlled, the less likely a myopic patient is to experience the vision complications that have been linked with high levels of myopia. These include the need to wear very thick glasses, early development of cataracts, and a condition caused by a detached retina.

There are currently several different treatments that are considered best practices for managing and controlling myopia.

Atropine Eyedrops

Atropine eyedrops are one of the first treatments that eye doctors will recommend to help stop the progression of myopia, and it has been proven to have very effective short-term results. Topical atropine works by dilating the pupils in order to relax the eye’s focusing mechanism. This is important because studies have indicated that myopia in children may be linked to eye fatigue caused by focusing. Since atropine eyedrops affect the ability to focus, once they have been applied you won’t be able to read, watch television, drive or do any other activity that requires focus until the effects have worn off.

Orthokeratology

Orthokeratology, also known as ortho k, is a unique technique that is also successful at controlling and managing myopia progression. It uses bespoke contact lenses, made from rigid gas permeable material, that are worn overnight. This is unusual since most contact lenses can’t be slept in, but ortho k lenses are specifically designed to be so. Once in place, they apply gentle, consistent pressure to the eyes to reshape the cornea while you sleep. While the reshaping isn’t permanent, with regular wear the eyes can begin to retain their new shape for a number of hours during the day. In fact, some orthokeratology patients find that they can enjoy clear vision without wearing prescription eyewear for up to a full day.

If you choose to cease treatment, you can simply stop wearing the lenses overnight and within a few days, your vision will return to pre-treatment quality.

MiSight Contact Lenses

MiSight 1-day contact lenses are clinically proven to help slow the progression of myopia in children. These specialty contact lenses have two distinct benefits. Firstly, they correct your child’s short-sightedness so that they can enjoy clear vision without needing to wear glasses. Secondly, they have a special optical design that works to slow the speed at which myopia progresses. In fact, studies show that MiSight lenses can slow the rate of myopia progression by an average of around 50% compared to wearing single vision lenses.

MiSight lenses work by altering the way that light is focused by the eyes, changing it so that it is focused in front of the retina rather than behind it. This reduces the stimuli that cause the eyes to grow too long in comparison to the focusing power of the lens – something which is a key characteristic in patients with myopia.

MiSight lenses are daily disposable lenses, meaning that your child can discard them at the end of the day. The next morning, they simply pop a new pair in and then go about their usual daily activities. They are easy to handle, and children from as young as 8 years old are regularly prescribed this effective myopia management treatment.

If you have any questions about myopia, visit Tri-City Optometry in Fremont, CA. Call (510) 602-2020 to schedule an appointment today.