Myopia Control

What is myopia?

Myopia, or short-sightedness, is becoming increasingly common in children. Understanding how to manage its progression is vital for protecting your child's long-term eye health and ensuring their vision remains clear as they grow.

What causes myopia?

Myopia occurs when the eye grows slightly too long, causing light to focus in front of the retina instead of on it. This results in distant objects appearing blurry while close-up vision typically remains clear.

A combination of genetics and lifestyle factors contributes to myopia. Children with one or both parents who are short-sighted are at higher risk. Increased time spent on near-tasks, like reading or digital screens, and less time outdoors are also significant factors.

Risks of myopia

Beyond the need for stronger glasses, high levels of myopia increase the risk of serious eye conditions later in life, including retinal detachment, glaucoma, and myopic macular degeneration. This is why early intervention is so critical.

How to help your child

You can take simple steps at home to support healthy vision habits and potentially slow the progression of short-sightedness:

Encourage at least 90 minutes of outdoor time daily.
Maintain a healthy reading distance (Harmon distance).
Take regular breaks from digital screens.
See a myopia management expert for professional advice.

Diagnosis and regular eye exams

Early detection is the key to effective management. Regular comprehensive eye exams allow us to track changes in your child's vision and axial length (eye growth) to detect myopia as early as possible.

Myopia management options

Management involves a tailored approach combining lifestyle modifications with advanced clinical treatments designed specifically to slow the elongation of the eye.

Treatment options

MiSight contact lenses

Daily disposable soft contact lenses clinically proven to slow the progression of myopia in children.

Atropine eye drops

Low-dose medicated eye drops used nightly to help signal the eye to slow its growth rate.

Stellest spectacle lenses

Highly effective glasses lenses that correct vision while controlling the advancement of myopia.

MiSight Soft Daily Disposable Contact Lenses

MiSight contact lenses incorporate a specialised optical design that not only enables clear vision for children but also significantly slows down the progression of myopia, potentially reducing it by more than half (up to 72% when used as instructed).

Our Myopia Control Management takes a comprehensive approach to minimise the advancement of myopia by combining the use of MiSight contact lenses with lifestyle strategies that promote better eye health. By adopting this approach, we aim to:

Decrease the likelihood of developing high levels of myopia (greater than -6.00D), consequently reducing the risk of eye conditions associated with nearsightedness, such as retinal detachment and glaucoma.
Provide the convenience of daily disposable lenses, eliminating the need for cleaning, disinfection, and concerns about misplaced lenses.
Potentially enhance the self-esteem of children and teenagers by enabling their active participation in sports and improving their social acceptance.
Ensure optimal eye health and comfort through low dehydration rates, efficient oxygen transmission during daily wear, and all-day comfort.

Atropine Eye Drops to Reduce Myopia Progression

When used as directed, the application of low dose Atropine Eye drops once a day, specifically at night, has been demonstrated to decelerate the advancement of childhood myopia by approximately 67% on average. These eye drops serve as a convenient treatment option if your child is not yet ready for contact lenses or if myopia-reducing spectacles are not viable. It is important to note that while undergoing Atropine treatment, your child should continue wearing their regular distance glasses to maintain clear and comfortable vision.

Our Optometrist will provide a prescription for the Atropine Eye Drops, which you can have filled at a pharmacy. In some cases, these drops may need to be compounded by a specialised pharmacist, and we can assist in coordinating this process. Low dose Atropine has minimal effects on pupil size, accommodation, and near vision, and it is generally well tolerated by patients. Upon initiating Atropine treatment, we schedule follow-up appointments the day after commencing the drops, then at 1 week, 3 months, and 6-month intervals to ensure your child's comfort. Long-term reviews every 6 months are advised.

Stellest Myopia Control Spectacle Lenses

Essilor Stellest lenses are a type of advanced spectacle lens designed to correct and manage myopia progression in children. Essilor Stellest lenses have been shown to significantly reduce myopia progression in children. According to clinical studies, these lenses have demonstrated an average reduction of myopia progression by approximately 59% over a two-year period compared to traditional single vision lenses.

These lenses utilise a technology known as Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (D.I.M.S) to provide myopia control.The Stellest lens design incorporates a series of specially engineered zones or segments on the lens surface. These segments have specific optical properties that create different focus points in the peripheral vision while maintaining clear central vision. By manipulating the peripheral defocus, the Stellest lenses help to slow down the elongation or growth of the eyeball, which is a primary factor in the progression of myopia.

The lens segments create a myopic defocus in the peripheral retina, which sends a signal to the eye to inhibit excessive axial elongation. This defocus, combined with clear central vision, helps to regulate the eye's growth and reduce the progression of myopia.

Essilor Stellest lenses are designed to be worn during the day, providing continuous myopia control throughout waking hours. They are typically prescribed for children and teenagers who are experiencing myopia progression.

Your child's vision is precious. Contact the friendly team at Elevate Eyecare today to discuss a personalised myopia management plan.

References:

Nearsightedness. Mayo Clinic. Nearsightedness - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic. 2022.
The impact of myopia and high myopia. Report of the Joint World Health Organization-Brien Holden Vision Institute Global Scientific Meeting on Myopia.
Six Year Refractive Change among White Children and Young Adults: Evidence for Significant Increase in Myopia among White UK Children Sara Jayne Mccullough, Lisa O'Donoghue, Kathryn J Saunders
Mumsnet research on behalf of Johnson and Johnson Visioncare: Parent’s & children’s views and attitudes about vision correction. 2013
Myopia and incident cataract and cataract surgery: the blue mountains eye study. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2002 Younan C1, Mitchell P, Cumming RG, Rochtchina E, Wang JJ.
The relationship between refractive errors and retinal detachment--analysis of 1,166 retinal detachment cases. Ogawa A1, Tanaka M.
Prevalence and progression of myopic retinopathy in an older population, April 2002 Jerry Vongphanit, Paul Mitchell, Paul Mitchell, Jie Jin Wang
Risk Factors for Open-Angle Glaucoma in a Japanese Population. October 2006 Yasuyuki Suzuki et al
Myopia prevalence in Canadian school children: a pilot study February 2018 Mike Yang, Doerte Luensmann, Desmond Fonn, Lyndon W Jones et al.
Violet Light Transmission is Related to Myopia Progression in Adult High Myopia December 2017 Hidemasa Torii, Kazuhiko Ohnuma, Toshihide Kurihara et al.
Effect of Accommodation on Peripheral Eye Lengths of Emmetropes and Myopes 2017. Aldossari H, et al.
The impact of myopia and high myopia: Report of the Joint World Health Organization – Brien Holden Vision Institute Global Scientific Meeting on Myopia. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. 16-18 March 2015.
Walline JJ, Jones LA, Sinnott LT. Corneal Reshaping and Myopia Progression. Br J Ophthalmol 20 009;93:1181-1185.
Lam CSY, Tang WC, Tse DY, et al. Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) spectacle lenses slow myopia progression: a 2-year randomised clinical trial British Journal of Ophthalmology. Published online first: 29 May 2019. doi: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-313739.
Understanding the new Essilor Stellest spectacle lens - Myopia Profile. 2022.