What is myopia?
Myopia is blurry long-distance vision, often called ‘short-sightedness’ or ‘near-sightedness’. A person with myopia can typically see clearly up close – when reading a book or looking at a laptop screen – but words and objects look fuzzy on a whiteboard, on television, across the room, when looking outdoors or when driving.
Why is myopia a concern?
The rate of myopia is growing across the world, increasing from 22% of the world’s population in 2000 to 33% in 2020 – half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050. Most myopia is caused by the eye length growing too quickly in childhood. The eyes are meant to grow from birth until the early teens and then cease, but in myopia the eyes grow too much and/or continue growing into the teenage years. Once a child becomes myopic, their vision typically deteriorates every 6-12 months, requiring a stronger and stronger prescription. Most myopic children tend to stabilize by the late teens and early 20’s. Excessive eye growth raises concern because even small amounts of stretching can lead to increased likelihood of vision threatening eye diseases in later life, such as myopic macular degeneration, retinal detachment, and cataract.
Why manage myopia in children?
Myopia progresses fastest in younger children, especially those under age 10. This means that the most important opportunity to slow eye growth is when children are younger. Myopia management aims to apply specific treatments to slow the excessive eye growth to a lesser rate. Experts agree that myopia management should be commenced for all children under age 12, and typically continue into the late teens.
The short-term benefit of slowing myopia progression is that a child’s prescription will change less quickly, giving them clearer vision for longer between eye examinations. The long-term benefit is reducing the lifetime risk of eye disease and vision impairment. This risk increases as myopia does3 with the good news being that reducing the final level of myopia by only 1 dioptre reduces the lifetime risk of myopic macular degenraiton by 40% and the risk of vision impairment by 20%.
How to Control Myopia Progression?
Standard, single-focus long distance spectacles or contact lenses do not slow down the progression of childhood myopia. Instead, specific types of spectacles, contact lenses and eye drops called atropine have been proven to slow myopia progression in children.
The best option for your child will depend on their current prescription and other vision and eye health factors determined in their eye examination. Your eye care practitioner will discuss the options with you to determine the best option. Treatment options vary across the world due to availability, supply and regulatory reasons. It is important to note that no treatment can promise the ability to stop myopia progression in children, only to slow it down.