Myopia Control In Melbourne And Other Great Eye Care Services

Myopia Control

The prevalence of myopia has increased dramatically over the last 30 years and is expected to be a global epidemic by 2050. Our optometrists are highly trained and motivated to implement myopia control. Melbourne parents should bring their children into our clinics in Carnegie and Elsternwick for effective myopia control options in the local area.

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

Myopia, or short-sightedness, is a condition of the eye where distant objects appear to be blurry while close objects appear normal.

The underlying cause of myopia is believed to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Some risk factors include family history, lifestyle, prolonged periods of digital device use, working too close to screens, and greater time spent indoors.

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MYOPIA CONTROL OPTIONS

Does your child’s prescription seem to go up every year? No big deal, right? They just need an updated pair of glasses or contacts and it’s back to business as usual.

In the past, we once believed that being near-sighted (myopic) was just a nuisance, certainly not harmful. Wow, were we wrong!

Today, evidence shows that the more myopic your child gets, the more at risk they are of serious eye diseases/conditions later in life.

The higher the Rx (prescription), the higher the risk for future problems. We now know that glaucoma, cataract, macular degeneration, and retinal detachments are all linked to myopia. The more myopic you are, the more you are at risk. That is why it is very important to protect our children’s eyes from getting worse. Here are some quick facts.

Why do we need to control myopia?

An analysis of several papers allows us to explain the increased frequency of comorbid myopia pathologies in simple risk terms, presented in the following table.

	Cataract (PSCC)	Glaucoma	Retinal Detachment
-1.00 to -3.00	2 x	4 x	4 x
-3.00 to -6.00	3 x	4 x	10 x
-6.00 or greater	6 x	4 x	21 x

At 3.00D of myopia, the risk of Cataract triples, and the risk of Retinal Detachment and Myopic Maculopathy is 10 times that of a person who isn’t near-sighted. Once children reach 6.00D of myopia, they hold a 6 times greater risk of Cataract, a whopping 21 times greater risk of Retinal Detachment, and a dramatic 40 times greater risk of Myopic Maculopathy.

These ratio risks demonstrate that there is no physiological level of myopia that could be considered “safe” in comparison to those who aren’t near-sighted. If you want to ensure your child’s eyes stay as healthy as possible, then myopia control is a must. The aim of our myopia control options in Melbourne is to reduce the rate of axial lens elongation (growth of eye).

What are the Myopia control options?

Atropine eye drops
Orthokeratology
MiSight soft multifocal daily contact lenses
Multifocal glasses
More outdoor time

Atropine Eye Drops

In recent studies, Atropine – an antimuscarinic drug – has shown to have great effectiveness in myopia control. Melbourne patients can take this prescription-only medicine in low concentrations (0.01%), which is believed to influence receptors responsible for controlling the growth and length of the eye.

orthokeratology

Also known as Ortho-K, Orthokeratology is a non-surgical option for myopia control. Based in Melbourne, our expert optometrists will fit you with custom contact lenses that reshape your eye and assist in the prevention and management of myopia. Find out more about Eyedentity Orthokeratology services.

misight soft multifocal daily contact lenses

MiSight Soft Contact lenses by CooperVision use ActivControl™ Technology, which results in a soft contact lens that provides clear vision and controls the rate of progression of myopia. ActivControl™ Technology provides clear distance, intermediate and near vision, while the peripheral treatment zones of the lens create myopic retinal defocus, which has been shown to control the rate of progression of myopia.

MiSight™ is a soft, daily, and disposable contact lens that is made with the proven Proclear® material. The benefits of using disposable lenses include comfort, with no need for cleaning or disinfecting the lens – making it ideal for children of all ages.

multifocal glasses

Multifocal glasses are designed to allow for both a proper distance prescription when viewing distance targets and a lower near prescription for reading or using a computer. Myopia research has suggested that accommodative dysfunction may play a role in progressive myopia. A reduction in accommodative demand with the use of multifocal glasses may reduce myopia progression, making it an effective form of myopia control.

outdoor time

Recent research in myopia has proven that children need to spend more than one hour and preferably at least two hours a day outside to help prevent myopia from developing and progressing. Daily ambient light exposure for kids is vital to control eye growth in childhood, with increased exposure resulting in slower axial growth of the eye, which causes myopia.