Managing the Risks of Myopia
Myopia or short-sightedness causes blurry vision in the distance.
1 in 3 people in the UK are affected by myopia and it is estimated that half the world’s population will be myopic by 2050.
Recent innovations in the field of optics have given us tools to help slow the progression of myopia in children.
What is Myopia?
Myopia causes blurred vision for far distance objects, but as myopia increases, the blur can start to be noticed even at arm’s length or closer. It is also known as short-sightedness or near-sightedness.
Myopia typically starts developing before age 10, and then progresses or worsens every few to several months in children and teenagers. It is caused by the eyes growing too quickly and too long for the normal rate of eye growth. In children, the eyes are meant to grow steadily until the teenage years, then stabilize. In myopia, though, the eyes grow too quickly leading to rapid and continual deterioration of vision and continued eye growth through the teenage years and even in early adulthood. This ongoing deterioration is called myopia progression.
Myopia has traditionally been corrected by spectacles (glasses) or contact lenses, which fix the focus of the eye to create clear vision while they are worn, but do not fix the myopia. This simple correction option – single vision glasses or contact lenses – have been found to offer no protection against myopia progression.
What is Myopia Management
Myopia is not just about a pair of glasses. Once myopia in children and teenagers onsets, it typically progresses or worsens every few months until the late teenage or early adulthood years.
Myopia progression brings with it:
- Increasingly blurred vision
- The need for frequent changes in spectacle or contact lens prescription
- Increased risk of eye diseases and vision problems over a person’s lifetime
‘Myopia control’ has become the increasingly adopted term to describe the use of treatments aimed to slow progression of myopia. These treatments include special types of spectacle lenses (glasses), soft contact lenses, ortho-k and atropine eye drops. Myopia control is particularly important for children, because this is the stage in life when myopia is most likely to progress or worsen quickly.
Around half of teenagers reach stability of their myopia progression around age 16 but this leave 50% who are still progressing. Ideally myopia control treatment should continue into early adulthood but we look at this on an individual basis.
Young adults can also suffer myopia progression, albeit at a slower rate than children and teenagers. Recent data indicates that young adults can also newly experience myopia in their 20s, even after a childhood of normal vision. It is also important to discuss other lifestyle and environmental factors which can trigger myopia progression, and also managing continued eye health.
HOYA MiyoSmart Spectacle Lenses
This spectacle lens is based on revolutionary Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (D.I.M.S.) Technology. This was developed in collaboration with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2014. MiYOSMART spectacle lenses are easy to fit and look just like a regular single vision lens.
In 2018, MiYOSMART spectacle lenses won the Gold Prize, Grand Award & Special Gold Award International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, Switzerland. In 2020, they also won the Silmo d’Or Award in the Vision category at the Silmo Paris Optical Fair.
With the exclusive non-invasive D.I.M.S. Technology, the lens provides a full vision correction and has a ring shaped treatment zone to slow down myopia progression. The combination of the focus zone and treatment zone provides clear vision and manages myopia simultaneously.
Essilor Stellest Spectacle Lenses
The Stellest spectacle lens is the culmination of more than 30 years of academic studies, product design, rigorous research efforts and collaboration between the top research institutes, myopia experts and Essilor’s research development teams.
The Stellest lens provides myopia correction and sharp vision through a single vision clear zone in the centre of the lens. It provides myopia control through the H.A.L.T. technology which consists of a constellation of aspherical lenslets spread on 11 rings. The effect of this design is the slowing of the elongation of the eye in myopic children. The power of each ring has been ingeniously determined to ensure light is focussed in front of the retina following the shape of the eye to achieve consistent myopia slowdown.
In its clinical trial, Essilor showed that after the first year, the eye growth of 9 out of 10 children wearing Essilor Stellest lenses was similar or slower than non-myopic children. Moreover, 2 out of 3 children who wore Essilor Stellest lenses have had a stable need in vision correction after the first year.
Coopervision MiSight 1 Day Contact Lenses
The MiSight® 1 day lens is clinically proven to slow the progression of myopia when initially prescribed for children 8-12 years old*.
MiSight® 1 day contact lenses were clinically validated in a multi-year comprehensive study that enrolled children between 8 and 12.
Over three years, MiSight® reduced myopia progression by 59%, versus a single vision 1 day lens.1
MiSight® 1 day with ActivControl™ Technology helps slow the elongation of the eye and myopia progression, while fully correcting refractive error.1 Addressing axial elongation helps to reduce the risk of myopia-related vision complications later in life, including irreversible vision loss
Our professional staff are fully accredited for fitting both myopia control spectacles and contact lenses. Make sure to speak to our friendly team about the options available to you
References:
- Mutti DO, Hayes JR, Mitchell GL, Jones LA, Moeschberger ML, Cotter SA, Kleinstein RN, Manny RE, Twelker JD, Zadnik K; CLEERE Study Group. Refractive error, axial length, and relative peripheral refractive error before and after the onset of myopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007 Jun;48(6):2510-9. doi: 10.1167/iovs.06-0562.
- Hou W, Norton TT, Hyman L, Gwiazda J; COMET Group. Axial Elongation in Myopic Children and its Association With Myopia Progression in the Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial. Eye Contact Lens. 2018 Jul;44(4):248-259.
- Lee SS, Lingham G, Sanfilippo PG, Hammond CJ, Saw SM, Guggenheim JA, Yazar S, Mackey DA. Incidence and Progression of Myopia in Early Adulthood. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2022 Feb 1;140(2):162-169.
- Donovan L, Sankaridurg P, Ho A, Naduvilath T, Smith EL 3rd, Holden BA. Myopia progression rates in urban children wearing single-vision spectacles. Optom Vis Sci. 2012 Jan;89(1):27-32.
- Tideman JW, Snabel MC, Tedja MS, van Rijn GA, Wong KT, Kuijpers RW, Vingerling JR, Hofman A, Buitendijk GH, Keunen JE, Boon CJ, Geerards AJ, Luyten GP, Verhoeven VJ, Klaver CC. Association of Axial Length With Risk of Uncorrectable Visual Impairment for Europeans With Myopia. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016 Dec 1;134(12):1355-1363.
- https://www.mykidsvision.org/KnowledgeCentre/what-is-myopia-control-and-why-its-important#what-is-myopia?