Here to Help Manage Your Child’s Myopia

At Upper Richmond Optometry, we understand the importance of controlling myopia. We’ve seen it firsthand: children who have their myopia managed with proper treatments and strategies often have clearer vision later in life compared to those who do not.

That’s why we are here to help manage your child’s vision and preserve a bright future for them.

We are dedicated to helping families safeguard the vision of their children through myopia control strategies. All you have to do is book an eye exam, and our team can provide an individualized myopia management plan that works for your family.

It’s never too early to start protecting your child’s vision: let us help you make a difference today.

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What Is Myopia?

Nearsightedness, also known as myopia, is a common vision problem that affects a person’s ability to see distant objects clearly. 

It happens when light doesn’t focus correctly on the retina because of a longer eyeball or an overly curved cornea. This condition usually starts in childhood but can be controlled to slow its progression.

Normal Eye

Normal Eye

Myopic Eye

Myopia

The Risks of High Myopia

Research indicates that nearly half of the world’s population will experience myopia to some degree by 2050. The longer myopia progresses, the greater the risk of it evolving into high myopia, posing significant threats to your child’s vision and eye health.

Start taking proactive steps during the early stages of myopia to minimize its impact and protect the long-term wellbeing of your child’s eyes.

Untreated high myopia can lead to several complications, increasing susceptibility to eye-related issues. These can include:

  • Cataracts
  • Retinal detachment
  • Myopic macular degeneration
  • Glaucoma

To prevent long-term risks, we recommend starting myopia control during childhood.

How Vision Can Affect Learning

When your kids are having trouble with their vision, it can impact their daily life at school, including reading from a distance, seeing the board, and participating in sports and other activities.

This can lead to stress and confusion for your child, and if left undiagnosed, can cause them to fall behind their classmates. We want to help your kids see clearly!

By seeking professional care and treatment options, such as corrective lenses or ortho-k, we can help your kids excel both inside and outside the classroom and improve their quality of life.

Signs & Symptoms of Myopia

Myopia can affect your kids in different ways and result in a variety of signs and symptoms. Some common signs and symptoms of myopia can include:

  • Distant objects appearing blurry
  • Eye strain
  • Squinting to see faraway objects
  • Headaches

These symptoms can be a telltale sign of myopia. A comprehensive eye exam with our team can help determine if myopia control methods such as ortho-k lenses can help.

Why Choose Myopia Control?

School Performance Problems

Untreated vision problems can adversely affect a child’s academic performance. Studies indicate that nearsighted children often encounter challenges in school.

Regular Eye Strain & Headaches

Myopia can lead to various additional difficulties, such as eye strain and headaches. Early detection and treatment for myopia can help limit its other potential complications.

Struggling with Certain Tasks & Activities

Myopia can make it difficult for kids to enjoy outdoor activities like sports.

Too much indoor time can also put your child at a higher risk of myopia progression, so let’s get them out and about, keeping their eyes bright and their spirits high!

How We Manage Myopia

Myopia control is all about managing the eye growth that often affects your child’s vision as they grow up.

When your little one comes in for an eye exam, we’ll guide you through the options we love for helping keep their vision crystal clear!

Ortho-K

Orthokeratology contact lenses, also known as ortho-k, are worn overnight to temporarily reshape your child’s cornea and manage myopia.

After waking up, they can simply remove the lenses and experience clear vision all day long. This can be especially beneficial for children who play sports or participate in other physical activities, as they won’t have to worry about breaking or losing their glasses.

Ortho-k lenses are a great option for children to control the progression of mild to moderate myopia.

Low-dose atropine eye drops can help slow myopia progression, but we may recommend contact lenses or glasses to help your child achieve clear vision during their treatment as well. Studies have shown that a low dose of atropine in eye drop form can help slow the progression of myopia in children to reduce the risk of severe nearsightedness.

Low-dose atropine drops help by suppressing the eye’s growth to slow down the progression of myopia.

MiSight daily contacts can help manage myopia in children during its earliest stages, between the ages of 8 and 12. These contacts affect how light focuses on the retina, helping send signals to the eye to slow its growth and control myopia progression.

This process helps to slow down the elongation of the eye and prevent the progression of myopia. The lenses contain a special “dual-focus” design, providing clear vision for distant and near objects.

Studies have shown that MiSight lenses slow the progression of myopia by an average of 59%.

ACUVUE Abiliti Soft Contacts are known for their breathable material that can keep eyes comfortable throughout the day. These daily disposable lenses are made from gas-permeable material that helps shape the cornea to manage myopia progression.

ACUVUE Abiliti soft contacts manage myopia by changing how light focuses on the retina so it can signal the eye to slow its growth and reduce myopia progression.

ZEISS MyoCare eyeglass lenses can change the way light focuses on the retina and signal the eye to slow its growth by using a small area of clarity at the center of the lens in combination with myopic defocus on the lens periphery. This technique helps to reshape the eye and reduce the rate of myopia progression.

ZEISS MyoCare lenses are made from high-quality materials that provide clear, crisp vision and excellent comfort levels. They come in 2 distinct designs, depending on the patient’s age, and are available in both single vision and progressive lens options

Take Our Myopia Quiz

Need more clarity? Take our myopia quiz down below.

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Let’s give your child the support they need. Book their next eye exam with us today!

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