Don’t let myopia stop your child from enjoying everyday activities. There’s a solution that’s right for your child. At Redmond Vision Clinic, our eye doctors will work with you to find the most effective and comfortable treatment options.

Slow Down Myopia

Myopia (nearsightedness) is on the rise worldwide. As one of the most common vision impairments, many health experts are concerned that half the world will have myopia by 2050. Statistics like that can be surprising, but the good news is that myopia is correctable.

When it comes to myopia control, beginning early leads to the best outcomes, which is why management starts at a young age. Myopia can’t be reversed, but you can protect your child’s visual development. You can learn more about managing your child’s eye care by booking an appoitment for an eye exam.

What is Myopia?

Myopia describes vision that looks clear up close, but blurry in the distance. Nearsightedness is a refractive error caused by a longer than normal eye or a steep cornea shape. Although health experts can’t confirm why myopia occurs, it’s a growing concern in children. 

Myopia exists on a scale from low to high myopia. Patients with low myopia might barely notice vision loss, with minimal use of corrective solutions. Someone with high myopia will need corrective options for everyday activities, like taking notes in a classroom or aiming a curveball.

Controlling Myopia

Myopia is more than slightly blurry vision. If ignored, the condition can worsen. The progression of myopia can lead to significant eye health issues, including retinal detachment, degenerative myopia (blindness), or glaucoma.

Treatment options include:

  • Corrective eyewear - Currently, there is no FDA-approved ophthalmic lens in the United States. Bifocal or multifocal eyeglasses have varying degrees of lens power in each lens, typically with the lower half of the lens for near vision and the top for distance. It has been suggested that making it easier for the eyes to adjust between near and far distances, referred to as an accommodative response, can help to slow the progression of myopia.

  • Daytime MiSight® 1 Day Contact Lens - MiSight® 1 day is the first and only FDA-approved soft contact lens to slow the progression of myopia in children ages 8 -12 at the initiation of treatment. Over a 3-year period, MiSight® 1 day slowed myopia progression by 59% on average and reduced eye lengthening by 52% on average. 41% of eyes had no progression. Over a 6-year period, children wearing MiSight® 1 day progressed less than 1.00D on average.

    Redmond Vision Clinic is among the first certified MiSight® medical practices, and has been prescribing MiSight® since early 2020.

  • Overnight Low Dose Prescription Atropine Eye Drops - Topical low-dose atropine is an emerging therapy for myopia management. Several well-controlled clinical trials (e.g. LAMP phase 2, ATOM1 and ATOM2) have been published. Studies show that low-dose atropine eye drops administered at bedtime can slow the progression of myopia in children.

  • Overnight Therapeutic Ortho-K Lenses - Orthokeratology is the use of specially designed rigid gas-permeable contact lenses to gently reshape the cornea. It is a non-surgical, non-invasive, and reversible technique used to slow the progression of myopia. This treatment can be compared to braces for your teeth because it reshapes the eye’s surface, creating clear vision. The effects are temporary, and you will need to wear a retainer contact lens nightly to maintain good vision.
    The lenses are worn overnight during sleep, flattening the center of the cornea to change how light is bent as it enters the eye. Once the lenses are removed in the morning, the slight change in the curvature of the corneal surface results in clear vision during waking hours, thus eliminating the need of daytime contact lenses or glasses. These therapeutic lenses are worn while children sleep, enabling them to enjoy clear and comfortable vision during the day without any glasses or contact lenses.

  • More Outdoor Time And Less Digital Device Time - Studies have shown that an average of 90 minutes of daily outdoor play time can help slow down the onset of myopia development.

    Media is everywhere. TV, Internet and video games all compete for children’s attention in addition to digital school learning. American Academy of Pediatrics has an excellent information page that includes evidenced-based research and other resources on healthy digital habits. The World Health Organization provides a guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep for children under 5 years of age.