Myopia Management

Myopia (short-sightedness) is a common eye problem. Reduced distance vision caused by myopia can usually be corrected with prescription glasses and contact lenses, but myopia can also affect eye health in other ways.

There are now several options designed to manage the progression of myopia by slowing down the eye growth (axial length), particularly in children and young people.

Myopia happens when the eye grows too quickly, meaning light focuses in front of the retina (the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eyeball), rather than on it. If your child has myopia, objects in the distance will be blurred, but objects that are close to them will be clear. The traditional way to correct this is with glasses or contact lenses which focus the light back on to the retina. The more myopic your child is, the poorer their uncorrected distance vision will be.

Myopia can develop at any age, but it is more likely to begin in childhood. Once myopia begins to develop, it usually continues to progress until early adulthood. The younger the child is at diagnosis, the more rapid the progression of myopia. The likelihood of developing myopia has been linked to several different factors, including family history, ethnic background, environment (particularly living in cities and spending lots of time indoors) and excessive time spent carrying out close-up tasks.

Being myopic increases the risk of certain eye conditions, and the risk increases the more myopic you are. If your child is myopic, they are more at risk of developing the following conditions at some point during their life.

– Myopic maculopathy
– Retinal detachment
– Cataracts
– Glaucoma

Myopic management is a name for any process that tries to limit how myopic a child becomes. Currently, in the UK, the most common approach to myopia management is to prescribe specially designed glasses or contact lenses along with simple lifestyle changes.

IMPORTANT: Myopia management does not cure or reduce existing myopia but aims to slow down the growth of the eyeball, and so limit how short-sighted your child becomes.

Typically, the eye grows rapidly in childhood and continues to grow at a slower rate throughout the teenage years, and even into early adulthood, so myopia management might need to continue until your child is in their late teens. If myopia management is ceased before your child’s eyes have stopped growing, the myopia may start to progress again.

Lifestyle changes

Spending time outdoors during the day can help delay the onset of myopia. This can limit how myopic your child becomes, and so reduce their risk of developing eye-health complications in later life. If your child is already myopic, spending time outdoors may slow its progression. Based on current research, you should encourage your child to spend 1-2 hours outdoors throughout the day.

Standard glasses and contact lenses

Evidence suggests that while standard glasses and contact lenses will allow your child to see clearly, they have little to no effect on slowing down myopia. If your child’s glasses or contact lenses are under-corrected this can make the myopia develop more quickly.

Myopia-management soft contact lenses

We primarily recommend a daily disposable soft contact lens specifically designed and validated to manage myopia. Research shows that theses need to be worn for at least 10 hours a day, six days a week, to achieve the best results.

Contact lenses are considered safe for children, if the child carefully follows appropriate advice on using them safely to reduce the risk of infection. Contact lens wearers should always consult an eye-care professional if they believe they have an eye infection, but most contact lens complications are minor and will settle without any lasting damage if the patient removes the lenses. Contact lenses must never come into contact with tap water or be worn when showering, swimming or bathing.

Myopia management glasses

As with contact lenses, there are also glasses that are available to specifically manage myopia. They work as a slowdown signal for eye growth. These glasses have lenses that allow clear central vision, while a ring-shaped treatment zone focuses the peripheral image in front of the retina. The lenses look like standard lenses when worn. As these are a prescribed myopia management treatment, for them to be effective the correction must be worn full time, with regular checks to ensure the frame is fitting perfectly.

How effective are myopia-management options?

Myopia management contact lenses and glasses have similar effects, with an average reduction in myopia progression and slowing of eye growth of between 40-60% over 2-3 years compared to wearing standard contact lenses or glasses.

It is important to note that some people respond better to myopia management than others and it is not possible to predict the response for any given child.

The gold standard of myopia management is slowing the growth of the eyeball and this is why we will regularly measure the eye length using the Myopia Master device.

We would recommend booking an appointment with your child’s usual optometrist to discuss further.