Myopia Control and Management Services

The Advanced Eyecare Centre offers myopia control and management services in Calgary.  To understand these options and why it is important to manage your child’s nearsightedness, we must first learn a bit more about myopia itself.

Nearsightedness, or myopia as it is medically termed, is a vision condition in which near objects are seen clearly, but distant objects do not come into proper focus.  It occurs when your eyeball is too long or the cornea has too much curvature.  This causes the light entering the eye to focus in front of the retina, as illustrated here:

The rate of myopia has increased by more than 66% since 1971.  In the 1970’s ~25% of North American’s had myopia.  It is now estimated that over 40% of them are nearsighted, and that percentage is expect to rise to over 50% by 2050.  While genetics plays a role, environmental factors such as performing prolonged periods of work at near and spending too little time outdoors seem to be contributing to this rise in prevalence.  Click here to learn more about how much Screen Time is appropriate for your child.

This increase in the rate of myopia is concerning because individuals who develop high amounts of myopia are at increased risk of getting:

• Cataracts
• Glaucoma
• Macular Degeneration
• Retinal Detachments

The good news is that research has shown it is possible to slow down the progression of myopia in children.  “Myopia control” is the term used to describe these treatments, which include:

Atropine:

Atropine is an eye drop that causes muscles in the eye to relax.  It has been found to decrease the progression of myopia by up to 77% when administered regularly at very low concentrations.  These low concentrations are not available commercially, but can be obtained with a prescription at a compounding pharmacy.  While this therapy has been used successfully for many years, there have been no long terms studies on it to evaluate for potential negative effects.

Peripheral Defocus Lenses:

Standard lenses to correct for myopia are optimized to provide you with clear distance vision regardless of where you look in the lens.  This results in light rays focusing behind the retina in the periphery.  In children this peripheral blur can stimulate the eye to grow longer still, inducing more myopia:

Peripheral defocus lenses provide clear distance vision centrally, but are intentionally blurry in the periphery.  This signals the eye that it is long enough, eliminating the stimulus for further growth.  Peripheral defocus lenses are available in both eyeglass and contact lens designs.

Who should consider Myopia Control and Management Services:

• Children who develop myopia before age 11
• Children with a family history of high myopia
• Children with a history of rapidly progressing myopia

Please contact us today if you think your child might benefit from myopia management.