12/08/21‘Treating’ Short Sightedness in children and teenagers
The percentage of people with Myopia is continually rising and is expected to affect over 50% of the world’s population by 2050. These numbers are especially high in urbanised populations and thought to be linked to increased time children spend indoors.
Short sightedness or myopia normally starts in childhood or as a teenager and progresses until settling in the late teens or twenties. Historically various things had been tried but when myopia started it was generally accepted that there was nothing that could be done until it settled on its own.
In the last few years exciting developments in both contact lens and spectacle lens technology means we can now ‘treat’ the progression of myopia, reducing its progression by an average of 60%.
Slowing the myopic progression reduces the inconvenience of needing strong glasses but also significantly reduces the risk of vision loss caused by problems such as myopic retinal degeneration and retinal detachment.
At Claudine Ickeringill Optometrists we specialise in myopia control and offer a range of different options which can be tailored to any child or teenagers lifestyle and personality.
MiYOSMART glass lenses:
The first option is to wear glasses with lenses specifically designed to slow down Myopia progression. The MiYOSMART lenses were released in the UK in 2021 after many years of development in Hong Kong. They use a circle of ‘lenslets’ to change the focus of the light on the peripheral retina and have been shown in large studies to slow myopia progression on average by 60%. The lenses are easy to fit and there is no limit to the choice of frame, there is also no cosmetic difference compared to ‘normal’ lenses. The lenses are also made to fit with your child’s active lifestyle, they are durable, impact resistant and provide UV protection.
MiSight 1 day contact lenses:
MiSight daily soft contact lenses are specially designed and clinically proven to slow down the speed of myopic progression. They look and feel like any daily disposable soft contact lenses so are very easy to use.
They again have some special optics changing the focus of the peripheral vision and like MiYOSMART have been shown to slow myopia progression by 60% whilst offering the clear spectacle free vision of any contact lens.
Ortho-K:
Ortho-K is a specialist custom made hard contact lens that is worn at night, they are removed first thing in the morning and they reshape your eye and correct your vision. This allows for clear vision without glasses or contact lenses during the day.
Ortho-K has long been thought of as way of slowing myopia progression and although there aren’t the same large studies available on the previous two options, the results of small studies show good efficacy on slowing myopia progression.
Myopia management is a very exciting and fast developing area that we feel very passionate about at Claudine Ickeringill. Using cutting edge technology really allows us to improve the lives of those affected by myopia.
If you would like more information for yourself, your children or even your grandchildren then please call us on 01243 532080 or email info@cioptometrists.co.uk
To read more about what Myopia is and how it can affect your vision in later life take a look at our previous blog post.