Myopia

Myopic eye

During childhood and adolescence, in some people the eyeball doesn’t grow consistently, stretching longer as the body grows and develops. This can lead to your distance vision becoming blurry as the light is not focussed on the back of the eye.

Myopia is a common condition and many think that it can be fixed by just wearing glasses. While glasses correct the vision they do not change the shape of the eye, requiring the patient to continue to wear corrective lenses. Unfortunately myopia can develop into “high” myopia, where the condition progressively worsens and if left untreated it will require stronger, thicker prescription lenses, and can lead to future eye health problems in the future, such as glaucoma, retinal detachment and cataracts¹.

Myopia is becoming more common in children around the world. It’s been estimated that half the world population will have myopia by 2050.²

What causes myopia?

Lifestyle and family genetics and history are the main factors that can put your child at greater risk of developing myopia. It is known that Myopia runs in the family.

• Spending more time where vision is concentrated on near tasks for long periods such as using digital devices like an iPad, and reading.
• Less time outdoors in natural light or looking at further distances.
• Myopia can be hereditary, and it’s particularly more common when one or both parents are myopic.³

Signs to look out for include:

• headaches
• tired eyes
• squinting
• distance vision becoming blurry or your child might be struggling at school

Sometimes there aren’t any obvious symptoms, so regular eye tests, especially for children, are important to detect changes in the eye and vision.

Speaking with Daniel Wong, an experienced optometrist in myopia treatment at Health Partners Optical, “Early detection is critical for any eye condition so we’re able to start treatment as soon as we can for the best long term outcome. There are different ways to test a child’s eye (shapes or numbers) so it’s important for children to come in for a child-friendly eye test at any age.”

How can myopia progress?

Myopia can progress in a number of different ways. For some the changes are very slight, other more pronounced over a shorter period of time. Key reasons for progression include:

• delay in diagnosing and treating young children
• older children not having regular eye checks
• wearing incorrect prescription or lens types
• thinking standard glasses will correct the underlying issue if progression is swift.

Options to manage myopia

There are ways to slow or remove the progression of myopia, and to manage the condition into adulthood. Health Partners optometrist Daniel Wong advises, “Treatment options are discussed with patients on a case by case basis.” Consider:

• Spending more time outdoors. Spending 90 minutes or more outdoors can reduce the risk of myopia and progression⁴.
• Taking regular breaks from near vision activity such as reading and screen time. After spending 20 minutes on a screen, spend 20 seconds looking at an object 20 feet away.
• Regular eye tests to understand what is happening progressively with the eyes.

Speaking with Health Partners optometrist, Daniel Wong, “As well as wearing glasses or contact lenses, we recommend spending time outdoors to aid in slowing down the progression of short-sightedness.”

Remember prescription glasses and contacts will only address the blurry vision, and your prescription will need to be updated as myopia progressively worsens.

“The most commonly asked question I receive from patients when I tell them they’re short sighted is, ‘are glasses going to make it worse?’ The answer to that is no. It is just a change in perspective as you become used to seeing clearly hence the feeling your vision has become worse.” – Daniel Wong, optometrist.

Myopia Treatment

At Health Partners optical, our optometrists are experienced and trained in the treatment and management of myopia. They will talk you through management options available and tailor treatment strategies to ensure the best approach is undertaken for each individual.

1. Eye Exam – undergoing regular eye tests is the first step to detect or confirm changes in your current prescription.
2. Corneal Topography Scan – A Topographer is a computer assisted diagnostic scanning device that creates a three-dimensional map of the surface curvature of the cornea. Topography takes measurements to benchmark and show whether the treatment selected is working. This mapping will also will assist in deciding if you are a suitable candidate for the Ortho-K treatment. This equipment is centrally located at our Adelaide Pirie Street store, so all referral appointments for topography scans will take place here.
3. Discuss the options – treatment plans are tailored based on the desired outcome, patient need and budget. Our experienced optometrists will explore the most suitable intervention and treatment options available for your individual circumstance and make an appropriate recommendation. Treatment options include:

Corneal Topography Machine

1. Ortho-K or overnight contact lenses

• Orthokeratology contacts (also known as ‘Ortho-K’ or ‘dream contacts’) are worn overnight, and have shown to slow down progressive myopia by gently correcting the shape of the eyeball while you sleep.
• Ortho-K contact lenses are custom made which is why the process to receive the lenses can take a little longer. Once the contact lenses are made our optometrists will ensure the customised fit is correct and comfortable.
• Find out more information on Ortho-K

2. Myopia treatment lenses

• Special lenses with unique optic designs that help to reduce the progression
• Progressive lenses especially designed for children who might struggle with contact lenses.

3. Myopia control soft contact lenses

• Specially designed soft multifocal/dual focal contact lenses that are worn during the day to help reduce the progression of myopia. Available in disposable contact lens types

4. Pharmaceutical treatment

• Once a day, low dose Atropine eye drops can be prescribed in conjunction with corrective glasses. Glare and sensitivity to sun can be side effects.

¹Holden B; Fricke T; Wilson D; Jong M; Naidoo K; Sankaridurg P; Wong T; Naduvilath T; Resnikoff S. Global prevalence of myopia and high myopia and temporal trends from 2000 through 2050. American Academy of Ophthalmology 2016

²Brien A. Holden, Timothy R. Fricke, David A. Wilson, Monica Jong, Kovin S. Naidoo, Padmaja Sankaridurg, Tien Y. Wong, Thomas J. Naduvilath, Serge Resnikoff. Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology, 2016; DOI: HYPERLINK "http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.01.006

³Lim LT, Gong Y, Ah-Kee EY, Xiao G, Zhang X. Impact of parental history of myopia on the development of myopia in mainland China school-aged children. Opthalmology and Eye Disease. 2014; 6:31-5 NOTE: from Child Myopia brochure p3

⁴Time spent in outdoor activities in relation to myopia prevention and control: a meta‐analysis and systematic review
Shuyu Xiong, 1 , 2 Padmaja Sankaridurg, 3 , 4 Thomas Naduvilath, 3 Jiajie Zang, 5 Haidong Zou, 1 , 2 Jianfeng Zhu, 1 Minzhi Lv, 1 Xiangui He,corresponding author 1 , 6 and Xun Xu 1 , 2