Myopia Management

Learn about Myopia and how Achord Eye Clinic can help you.

What is myopia?

Myopia, also called nearsightedness, is a common vision condition that requires glasses or contacts to correct. Myopic individuals see nearby objects clearly, but objects that are far away are blurred.

Typical “school-age” myopia can be diagnosed as young as 5-6 years old and is caused by the eye continuing to elongate after it should have stopped growing. Myopia is caused by both genetics and environmental factors. Spending more time outside has been proven to prevent the onset of myopia.

Why does it matter?

Once a child becomes myopic, their eyes will continue growing and elongating as they age. This is the reason children need new glasses every year. Usually, this elongation process stabilizes around 17-18 years old, though it has been observed to continue further into the twenties.

The more nearsighted someone is, the higher the impact of their prescription on their daily life, and the more dependent they will be on their glasses or contacts. The more myopic one becomes, the higher the risk for a variety of sight-threatening eye conditions, including glaucoma, retinal detachment, and macular degeneration. Once a prescription gets higher than -4.00 diopters, the risk is so high that it becomes almost a certainty that one of these conditions will occur at some point in a myopic individuals’ lifetime.

What can we do about it?

While standard glasses and contact lenses correct blurry distance vision, they do not slow down the yearly increase in nearsightedness. There are several interventions that are proven to reduce this increase in nearsightedness. These interventions include:

• Specially designed contact lenses

  • Orthokeratology (Corneal Refractive Therapy)

  • Soft contact lenses

• Specially designed glasses

  • Stellest

• Low-dose Atropine

Here at Achord Eye Clinic we will find the best of these treatments to slow or stop your child’s increasing myopic prescription. The goal of our Myopia Management Program is to lessen Myopia’s impact on their life and improve their future.

Schedule a consultation visit today to talk with Dr. Hair about the Myopia Management options available at Achord Eye Clinic [PDF download].