Myopia Awareness Week just passed, but we want to keep spreading knowledge and preventing as much damage as possible! Myopia (nearsightedness) is currently the most significant threat to eye health and vision. It is estimated that 30% of people in the world have myopia, and that number will rise to 50% by 2050.
Myopia typically develops in childhood or adolescence, though adults may also develop the condition due to visual stress or other conditions such as diabetes.
Risk Factors
Having a family history of myopia
Having a refractive error present from an early age
Prolonged screen time
Not enough time spent outdoors
Prolonged up close activities
A great way to combat the likelihood of myopia is to ensure you and your children spend enough time outdoors and away from screens. Additionally, try not to focus on up-close objects for extended periods of time too frequently.
Symptoms
Distant objects appear blurry, but close objects are clear (you may notice this if you start to need to hold objects close in order to see/read clearly)
Needing to squint to be able to see clearly
Frequent headaches
Eyestrain
Symptoms can be harder to notice in children - they might not mention anything, or may not say it in a way that makes you think of myopia.
If your child is complaining of (or you notice them doing) the following things:
having difficulty reading/seeing the board at school
increasing headaches
frequent squinting
increasing amounts of screen time
These may be signs they have myopia, and it’s time to schedule an eye exam! Detecting and treating this condition as early as possible is vital. Slowing the progression of myopia helps preserve your child’s vision, and also it keeps their eyes healthier and at less risk for serious eye conditions later on such as cataracts, glaucoma and retinal detachment. These conditions can all lead to visual impairment and even blindness, so we want to protect against them early.
Treating Myopia
Luckily, myopia is able to be treated pretty easily. The most common form of treatment is wearing glasses or contacts. Depending on how severe your vision is impacted, you may need to wear glasses all the time or only during certain activities.
If glasses or contacts do not help, procedures such as laser surgery or other refractive surgery can work to correct your myopia. If your myopia is stress-related, vision therapy may be beneficial.
At Bright Eyes, we use the MiSight contact lenses to treat myopia. These are daily disposable soft contacts designed to slow down the progression of nearsightedness for children. It has been shown that, on average, age-appropriate children wearing MiSight 1-day contact lenses progressed less than -1.00D over 6 years. MiSight lenses are the only FDA-approved for children from 8 to 12, but research has found that they can be beneficial up to age 15. If you have a child with myopia, these lenses are a great option!
If you begin to notice any of these symptoms or are at a higher risk for myopia, give us a call and schedule an exam. If the exam reveals that you or your child have myopia, we will be happy to discuss options and help you decide which treatment option will fit you best!
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