Myopia or short-sightedness is very common and causes objects in the distance to appear blurred. Glasses are usually prescribed to bring distant objects into focus.
Myopia does not mean the eyes are unhealthy. A child is more likely to be myopic if their parents are and it has been shown that increased time spent indoors on near concentrated tasks like reading or on digital devices can worsen the myopia.
As myopia worsens the prescription needed to correct it will become stronger.
To help avoid worsening myopia there are a number of things you can encourage as a parent.
· Spend some time each day outside in natural daylight.
· Avoid spending long periods of time viewing near tasks including reading books and digital devices. Build in regular breaks from focusing at near so that the eyes can rest from focussing at near by looking out of the window or across the room.
Conventional glasses or contact lenses give your child clear vision but now with myopia management we can slow down how quickly their myopia develops overtime.
One of the causes of myopia is the eye being too long. The technology behind myopia management works to reduce excessive lengthening of the eye and is available in spectacle lenses and contact lenses.
Reducing a child’s myopia progression can achieve a potentially lower adult prescription meaning thinner and lighter spectacle lenses and less blurry vision without spectacles or contact lenses.
Please call us to book an appointment to discuss how myopia management might be suitable for your child.