Understanding myopia management for kids
If you’re a parent, there’s no doubt you’ll want to provide your kids with the best possible start in life. While many parents focus on nutrition, education, and emotional support, it’s easy to overlook another important aspect of childhood development: eye health.
Let’s explore myopia, a vision correction issue that’s becoming increasingly common among children. Managing myopia early is important, as proper myopia control can positively impact your child’s vision and overall well-being. It can also prevent the development of eye conditions like glaucoma, retinal detachments, and macular degeneration, which can occur in adulthood if a prescription increases.
Unravelling myopia
Myopia, commonly known as short-sightedness, occurs when the eye grows slightly too long. This causes light to focus in front of the retina instead of directly on it, resulting in distant objects appearing blurry while close-up vision remains clear.
As a parent, it’s natural to be concerned if you think your child has myopia. However, a myopia control plan can slow down its progression.
What causes myopia?
Several factors contribute to myopia progression in children:
- Genetics: If one or both parents are short-sighted, the likelihood of their child developing myopia increases significantly.
- Digital screen time: Spending too long glued to smartphones, tablets, and computers means prolonged close-up focus, which can strain developing eyes and potentially accelerate myopia progression.
- Not enough time outdoors: Modern lifestyles often mean less time spent outdoors. Studies show that spending at least 2 hours a day in natural daylight outside supports good eye health and can slow or prevent myopia development.
Spotting the signs
Identifying myopia early means you can address it before it impacts your child’s life. Tell-tale signs include:
- difficulty reading classroom whiteboards or seeing objects far away
- sitting close to television screens, or holding books or devices closer to see them
- complaining of frequent headaches
- excessive eye rubbing or squinting
If you notice these signs in a child, the first port of call should be to book them in for a comprehensive eye exam so we can check if their prescription has changed and assess their eye health in detail.
In the instance that they are diagnosed with short-sightedness (myopia), or if they already, there is a clinically proven management method to help slow down myopia progression in children available.
MiSight 1 Day Contact Lenses for myopia management
We’re excited to offer MiSight contact lenses, a revolutionary approach to managing childhood myopia. The lenses are specifically designed for children aged 6-8, and they’ve shown remarkable results in clinical trials – reducing myopia progression by up to 59% when the treatment plan is followed.
MiSight contact lenses:
- are designed for daily wear
- correct short-sightedness, just like regular lenses
- allow children to participate in sports and activities without worrying about damaging or losing glasses
- offer a comfortable alternative to glasses, meaning kids are more likely to wear them
- are clinically proven to slow myopia progression
Your child’s myopia management journey
Our child-friendly process involves:
- an initial comprehensive eye examination
- a detailed consultation about myopia management options
- professional contact lens fitting, where we take eye measurements and fit the contact lenses
- personalised training to help your little one insert and remove their lenses and learn how to care for them
- a contact lens trial to ensure the lenses fit well and are comfortable
- regular follow-up appointments to monitor progress and adjust lenses if necessary
Book your child’s appointment today
Your child’s vision is too important to leave to chance. Start their myopia management journey now by booking an eye examination at our opticians at Broadgate and see for yourself how MiSight 1-day contact lenses can help your child enjoy healthy vision for life.