Now that myopia (nearsightedness) is reaching epidemic proportions across the globe, it’s all the more important for parents to understand how myopia can impact their child’s future, and learn which actions they should take to protect their child’s eye health in the long run.

You see, myopia isn’t simply an inconvenience. Childhood myopia raises the risk of developing vision-robbing diseases like macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, retinal detachment and diabetic retinopathy later in life.

Myopia develops as the eye elongates more than it should, causing light to focus in front of the retina instead of directly on it. This manifests as blurred distance vision and clear near vision.

While myopia is caused by a combination of circumstances, including genetic and environmental, a key factor comes down to the amount of time a child spends outdoors in the sunlight.

How Does Outdoor Play Affect Myopia?

Although researchers haven’t yet pinpointed exactly why “sun time” prevents or delays myopia, almost all agree that it plays a large role.

One possible reason is correlated to the brightness of the sun. Some experts have found that the intensity of the sun’s rays triggers a dopamine release in the retina which is thought to slow down the elongation of the eye.

Another theory holds that outdoor time encourages a child to shift their gaze from near objects to faraway ones. Excessive near work, like staring at a digital screen, is believed to be a driving force behind the stark increase in myopic individuals today.

Sending a child outdoors to play gives their eyes a break from focusing on their tablets, smartphones, homework, gaming and other near work.

Additionally, spending more time in the sunshine means more Vitamin-D production. Small-scale studies have found nearsighted people have lower levels of Vitamin D than those with normal eyesight. However, more research is needed to confirm this theory.

Here’s the Bottom Line

Childhood myopia increases the risk of developing sight-threatening eye diseases later in life. Parents should be proactive about their child’s eye health and do what they can to prevent myopia from developing or progressing at a rapid rate.

Even if your child doesn’t have myopia, encouraging them to play outdoors for several hours a day has been found to prevent the onset of myopia in certain instances.

So go ahead and give your child a water bottle, sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses—and send them out to play! Children aged 6 and up should spend about 2 hours daily outside in the sunshine.

But sun time alone isn’t enough to ensure the best possible outcome for their eye health. A myopia management program can help give your child the best odds of healthy vision for a lifetime.

To learn more about the myopia treatments we offer and schedule your child’s myopia consultation, call The Eye Center At Jackson today!

Q: #1: What is myopia management?

• A: Myopia management is the science-based method used to slow or halt the progression of myopia. There are several options available, and your optometrist will sit down with you and your child to discuss which treatment option is most suitable for your child’s needs.

Q: #2: Who can benefit from myopia management?

• A: Myopia management treatments have been approved for children as young as 8 and can be used until early adulthood. Myopia management is great for children with low myopia but can also be effective for slowing myopia progression in kids and teens with moderate to high myopia. Contact us to find out whether your child is a candidate for myopia management.

The Eye Center At Jackson serves patients from Jackson, Lakewood, Freehold and Tom's River, all throughout New Jersey.

 

More than 40% of North Americans have myopia (nearsightedness), most of them since childhood.

Myopia (nearsightedness) occurs when the eyeball grows too long, and the shape of the eye causes light rays to focus in front of the retina instead of directly on the retina. This causes distant objects to appear blurry.

Children with moderate to severe myopia are at significant risk of developing sight-threatening eye diseases such as macular degeneration, cataracts, retinal detachment and glaucoma later in life.

Is the myopia epidemic even partly due to children spending too much time looking at digital screens? While digital devices keep our children entertained and help them learn via online classrooms, it’s important to understand the ramifications associated with using them.

Is There a Link Between Digital Screens and Myopia?

That’s an excellent question, with no easy answers.

Several studies have found that children who spend many hours indoors doing “close work” — reading, writing, and looking at computers and other digital devices — have a higher rate of myopia progression.

In Denmark, teenagers who spent more than six hours a day on screens doubled their risk of myopia, while in Ireland, researchers determined that spending more than three hours a day on a screen increased the chances a child would be myopic.

However, some other studies haven’t found a definitive correlation between screen time and myopia.

What is clear is that children who spend a considerable amount of time playing outdoors in the sunshine appear to develop myopia at a slower rate than children who spend almost all their time indoors.

A study published in the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s professional journal, Ophthalmology, found that the progression of myopia in first-graders who spent at least 11 hours per week playing outside in the sunshine was slower in the “sunshine” children.

And a study by the Singapore Eye Research Institute found that each hour teenagers spent outdoors doing activities lowered their risk of myopia by 10 percent.

Whether this was due to them looking at far-away objects or to sunlight’s effect on the children’s eyes requires further study.

What is certain: Children, teens and adults who look at screens for an extended period of time often experience blurred vision, headaches, dry eyes and digital eye strain.

Signs of Myopia

Looking at objects too closely

If you notice your child moving closer to the TV, or having trouble seeing the board in their classroom, it can be a sign that they have myopia.

Head tilting or squinting

If your child tilts or squints their head while watching TV, it may be a sign that they are having trouble focusing.

Blurred vision

If your child can’t see clearly in the distance or complains of blurry vision, it may be due to using a digital screen for long periods of time.

Headaches

Untreated myopia can cause serious eye strain, which can cause headaches.

How to Help Prevent Myopia or Slow Its Progression

Many cases of myopia are inherited, but it’s still possible to slow and sometimes halt its progression. Here is what you can do to help prevent your child from developing this eye condition:

• Encourage your child to go outdoors at least 90 minutes a day, preferably in the sunshine. Be sure to follow local health recommendations regarding children and exposure to sunlight, including wearing UV-protected sunglasses and sunscreen.
• Limit the amount of time your child spends doing close work such as homework, reading and staring at a screen.
• When your child uses a digital screen, make sure the screen isn’t close to their face. Encourage your child to take a break at least once every 20 minutes, and to look across the room for at least 20 seconds during each break.
• Discuss myopia management with your eye doctor to help slow and potentially stop the progression of your child’s myopia.

How We Can Help Treat Myopia

If your child shows signs or symptoms of myopia, schedule an eye exam with your eye doctor as soon as possible to discuss a myopia management plan. Early diagnosis of myopia or other eye conditions can improve your child’s performance in school, on the sports field, and can help prevent serious sight-robbing eye diseases later in life.

Contact The Eye Center At Jackson to schedule an appointment to discuss your child’s myopia management plan.

• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180806162718.htm

Q&A

Q: What is Myopia Management?

• A: Myopia management is a treatment program prescribed by your eye doctor to slow, and sometimes halt, myopia progression.

Q: What is involved in myopia management?

A: Depending on the severity of myopia and age of your child, your eye doctor may prescribe any of the following myopia management techniques:

• Eyeglasses, such as bifocal or multifocal
• Multifocal contact lenses
• Atropine eye drops
• Orthokeratology (Ortho-k) contact lenses

Myopia control is a hot topic these days — and for good reason. More and more parents are providing their nearsighted children with myopia control treatments in hopes of slowing down the rapid progression of this very common refractive error.

Is myopia control worth all the effort? Why not just get new glasses every time your child needs a higher prescription? Is childhood myopia really that big of a deal?

Below, we’ll answer these important questions so you can make informed decisions and feel confident about your choices. If your child has myopia, contact The Eye Center At Jackson to learn more about how we can help.

Myopia Is Not Harmless

Myopia is far more than just blurry distance vision. What many don’t realize is that it can seriously impact a child’s long-term eye health.

A child with myopia is significantly more likely to develop sight-threatening diseases, such as glaucoma, cataracts, retinal detachment, and macular degeneration, later in life.

Because the cause of myopia is an elongated eye, the stretching of the eye takes a toll on the retina (the light-sensitive lining at the back of the eye). Over time, the stressed retina is more prone to damage and tearing.

Your Child’s Lens Prescription Matters

Suppose your child’s lens prescription is -3.00D (mild to moderate myopia). Although you may think that it’s too late for myopia control at this point, research suggests otherwise.

The level of myopia a child has is directly correlated to their risk of eye disease — the higher the myopia, the greater the risk.

A child with myopia that’s between -0.75D and -3.00 is more than 3 times more likely to develop retinal detachment in the future. That number triples for individuals with high myopia (-5.00 and above).

The risk of myopic maculopathy is also influenced by the level of a child’s nearsightedness. Children under -5.00 have just a 0.42% of developing this serious eye condition, but anything above -5.00? That risk level leaps to 25.3%.

Slowing down or stopping your child’s eyesight from worsening will greatly increase their chances of having a healthy vision in adulthood. Halting myopia as early as possible renders the best outcome.

Myopia Is On The Rise

This is the time to act. With myopia cases escalating exponentially, it’s expected that about half of the world’s population will be nearsighted by 2050, and about 10% of those individuals will have high myopia.

Offering your child myopia control now can potentially prevent them from being part of that 10% in 2050.

If your child has myopia or is at risk of developing it, we can help! To schedule your child’s myopia consultation, contact The Eye Center At Jackson today.

Q&A

 

Q: #1: How do I know if my child is at risk of developing myopia?

• A: If one or both parents have myopia, a child is predisposed to becoming nearsighted. Other factors that influence myopia include excess screen time, not enough time spent in the sunlight, and being of a certain ethnicity (people of Asian or Pacific Islander descent have the highest risk).

Q: #2: What treatments are used for myopia control?

• A: The 3 main treatments are atropine eye drops, orthokeratology (Ortho-k) contact lenses, and multifocal contact lenses. Your optometrist will help you decide which method best suits your child’s eyes and lifestyle.

 

The Eye Center At Jackson serves patients from Jackson, Lakewood, Freehold, and Tom's River, all throughout New Jersey.

The benefits of outdoor play are well known. It allows children to exercise, socialize, develop skills like problem-solving and risk-taking and lets them soak up some Vitamin D.

A less-known benefit of outdoor play is its effect on myopia (nearsightedness). Numerous studies have confirmed an association between increased “sun time” and lower levels of myopia.

Below, we’ll explore why this is the case, and recommend ways to keep your child’s eyes healthy, whether or not they are nearsighted.

Why “Sun Time” Helps Control Myopia

While researchers haven’t yet pinpointed the exact reason, some believe that the sun’s intense brightness plays a role. Others think Vitamin D may also be a factor. Another theory is that the time children spend looking into the distance while being outdoors — in contrast to time spent on a computer indoors — helps keep myopia at bay.

The cause of myopia is an elongated eye, which forces incoming light rays in front of the retina, instead of on the retina.

How Much Outdoor Time Is Recommended?

There isn’t a unanimous opinion on an exact amount of time, but the general recommendation is that children ages 6 and up should spend 2 or more hours outdoors per day.

It’s important to note that UV rays can be harmful to the eyes and skin. So, before you send your little ones out to play, be sure to give them a pair of UV-blocking [sunglasses], a wide-brimmed hat and sunblock.

What Can Parents Do For Their Children’s Vision and Eye Health?

Encourage your children to spend time outdoors whenever possible. It is also important to follow local health guidelines pertaining to the exposure of children to sunlight. Limit their daily screen time, and offer minimal screen time to children under the age of 2.

Make sure your child takes frequent breaks whenever doing near work like homework, reading, and spending time on a digital screen. A 5-10 minute break should be encouraged for every hour of near work.

The best thing you can do for your myopic child is to provide them with myopia management treatments. Even if your child doesn’t have myopia but is at risk, have their eyes checked annually, or as often as your optometrist recommends.

To schedule your child’s myopia consultation, call The Eye Center At Jackson in Jackson today!

Q&A

Q: #1: Why is it important to slow down myopia?

• A: Childhood myopia is a significant risk factor for developing sight-threatening eye diseases later in life. These serious eye conditions include glaucoma, cataracts, retinal detachment and age-related macular degeneration.

Q: #2: What are myopia management treatments?

• A: The 3 main myopia treatments are atropine eye drops, orthokeratology (ortho-k) contact lenses, and multifocal contact lenses. Speak with your optometrist about which option is best for your child’s eyes and lifestyle.

Myopia (nearsightedness) has reached pandemic proportions, with nearly a third of the world’s population being myopic.

Myopia occurs when the shape of the eye causes light rays entering the eye to bend incorrectly. This leads to blurred vision when viewing objects that are far away. Most myopic children are diagnosed between ages 3 to 12, according to the American Optometric Association.

Once a child becomes myopic, the condition generally worsens as they get older. While glasses and contact lenses can provide clear distance vision, they don’t cure myopia. They only relieve the symptoms.

Why Is Myopia Problematic?

Myopia can have a very negative impact on your child’s learning, athletics, and overall school performance. Additionally, having myopia as a child can significantly raise the risk of developing serious ocular complications such as glaucoma, cataracts, and retinal detachment in adulthood.

Is your child at risk?

Some factors that increase a child’s risk of becoming myopic include:

• Race (Asians are more prone to myopia)
• Family history (one or both parents are myopic)
• Less than 2 hours per day playing outdoors
• Excessive time spent indoors reading, looking at a screen, or doing other close-work

How To Reduce The Risk of Myopia

To reduce the risk of your child developing myopia, increase their outdoor playtime and reduce their amount of near work.

It is important to have your child’s eyes tested by an eye doctor before they start school. The doctor will be able to give a reliable indication of their future risk of developing myopia.

If your child is already found to be myopic, their eye doctor will be able to discuss all the myopia management options available.

Myopia Management Options

Myopia management can help stabilize your child’s vision and improve their school performance. A program of myopia management can include these options:

• Atropine eye drops
• Orthokeratology (“ortho-k”)
• Multifocal contact lenses (NaturalVue)

Your child’s eye doctor will decide which option is best for your child based on many factors, including your child’s age, degree of myopia, how their eyes work together, and their level of maturity.

NaturalVue vs Other Contact Lenses for Myopia

While regular soft contact lenses can provide clear distance vision, they don’t slow or halt the progression of myopia.

NaturalVue lenses are multifocal lenses that were originally developed to help older people read without reading glasses. However recent research and clinical trials have shown that these lenses may also help patients with myopia.

Studies have found that children who wear multifocal contact lenses have a significantly slower progression of their myopia compared to those who wear regular contact lenses. A study published in Eye and Contact Lens Journal: Science and Clinical Practice found that children who wore NaturalVue Multifocal contact lenses for 5 years had lower rates of myopia progression.

NaturalVue Multifocal lenses provide clear and comfortable vision while slowing myopia progression.

If your child is myopic or you are concerned they might become myopic, contact The Eye Center At Jackson to schedule an appointment. We can help diagnose and manage your child’s myopia so that they can enjoy clear vision while slowing or preventing this condition from worsening.

Q&A

Q: How do multifocal contact lenses reduce myopia progression?

• A: The lens design has two parts. The central part corrects your vision, allowing you to see clearly. The peripheral part of the lens has a lower power, allowing light from the side of vision to focus in front of the retina. This effect has been shown to slow down or even stop the worsening of the child’s myopia.

Q: How does NaturalVue compare to Ortho-k?

• A: NaturalVue lenses are daily disposable soft contact lenses that are worn during the day, and then removed and thrown away at night. Ortho-k are hard contact lenses worn during sleep and removed in the morning.

  https://reviewofmm.com/responsible-and-safe-myopia-management-during-a-pandemic/

Myopia (nearsightedness) occurs when the eye elongates and rays of light entering the eye are focused in front of the light-sensitive retina rather than directly on it.

It’s by far the most common refractive error among children and young adults.

To help understand and learn more about what myopia means for your child’s vision, we’ve debunked 4 common myopia myths.

Myth: Myopia only develops in childhood

Fact: While it’s true that in most cases nearsightedness develops in childhood, it can also develop during one’s young adult years.

Myth: Wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses cause myopia to worsen

Fact: Prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses in no way exacerbate myopia. Optical corrections help you see comfortably and clearly. Another common misconception is that it’s better to use a weaker lens power than the one prescribed by your eye doctor. This is simply not true. By wearing a weaker lens you are contradicting the purpose of using corrective eyewear, which is to comfortably correct your vision.

Myth: Taking vitamins can cure myopia

Fact: Vitamins have been proven to slow the progression of or prevent some eye conditions, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or cataracts. However, no vitamin has been shown to prevent or cure myopia. All vitamins and supplements should only be taken under the advice of your healthcare professional.

Myth: There is no way to slow the progression of myopia.

Fact: There are a few ways to slow down the progression of myopia:

Get more sunlight. Studies have shown that children who spend more time playing outdoors in the sunlight have slower myopia progression than children who are homebodies.

Take a break. Doing close work, such as spending an excessive amount of time looking at a digital screen, reading, and doing homework has been linked to myopia. Encouraging your child to take frequent breaks to focus on objects farther away can help. One well-known eye exercise is the 20-20-20 rule, where you take a 20-second break to view something 20 feet away every 20 minutes.

Other options to slow myopia progression include:

• Orthokeratology/Ortho-k. These are specialized custom-fit contact lenses shown to decrease the rate of myopia progression through the gentle reshaping of the cornea when worn overnight.
• Multifocal lenses offer clear vision at various focal distances. Studies show that wearing multifocal soft contact lenses or multifocal eyeglasses during the day can limit the progression of myopia compared to conventional single vision glasses or contact lenses.
• Atropine drops. 1.0% atropine eye drops applied daily in one eye over a period of 2 years has shown to significantly reduce the progression of myopia

Prevent or slow the progression of your child’s myopia with myopia management. Contact The Eye Center At Jackson to book your child’s consultation today!

The Eye Center At Jackson serves patients from Jackson, Lakewood, Freehold, and Tom's River, all throughout New Jersey.

Q: Can myopia be cured?

• A: Currently, there is no cure for myopia. However, various myopia management methods can slow its progression.

Q: How much time should my child spend outdoors to reduce the risk of myopia?

• A: Make sure your child spends at least 90 minutes a day outdoors.

The Eye Center At Jackson serves patients from Jackson, Lakewood, Freehold, and Tom's River, all throughout New Jersey.

 

Every year you buy your children clothing without thinking about why you are doing it. You just know they have outgrown their clothes and need a new coat and certainly new shoes. This also applies to prescription glasses. When your child grows, so do their eyes.

If their eyes grow too long, they develop myopia — nearsightedness. Children whose myopia develops quickly, and/or is moderate to severe, are at a heightened risk of developing sight-threatening eye diseases in adulthood.

Changes in Your Eyes

Babies are born with eyes about 16.5 millimeters in length. When their eyes are about 24 millimeters long — at the age of 20 and 21 — they stop getting longer.

As our eyes grow larger, the way they refract light onto the retina can change, necessitating a new prescription.

During their first few years, children are mainly concerned with interacting with their surroundings, requiring them to use their intermediate and far vision. However, when the school years start, they begin to focus more intently on close-up activities like reading from books and using computers. As a result, their eyes may become more nearsighted.

School-age children can be impacted by progressive myopia, where the myopia continues to worsen throughout the school years. Their optical prescriptions can change, often dramatically, every 6-12 months

This progression in myopia continues as long as the eyes continue to grow, so as children grow, their prescription naturally changes as well.

Since most people’s eyes will stop growing in early adulthood, you will tend to see fewer changes in their prescription after the student completes high school or during their college years.

Myopia Management

If your child has myopia they will need prescription glasses. In some children, myopia progression is gradual. In others, their myopia progresses quickly, resulting in ever-higher levels of nearsightedness. Their eyeglass prescriptions need to be updated quickly.

To try and slow the progression of your child’s myopia, Rajeev K. Raghu, OD, FAAO, Diplomate, ABO and Anthony Giallombardo, OD may suggest a number of treatments, such as multifocal lenses and atropine drops, among others.

Atropine Drops

Atropine eye drops are most commonly used to dilate your pupils during certain eye exams. However, recent research has shown that a low-dose (0.01%) of atropine eye drops can effectively impede the progression of myopia in children. When the eye drops are applied, at bedtime, over an extended period of time, myopia progression can be reduced.

Multifocal Lenses

Multifocal soft contact lenses offer clear vision at various focal distances. Scientific evidence has shown that wearing multifocal glasses or contact lenses limits the progression of myopia compared to the standard single vision contact lenses or glasses most children wear.

At The Eye Center At Jackson, we provide our patients with effective, specialized treatment to control the progression of myopia. By stopping or slowing the progression of myopia, we reduce long-term risks to best ensure that your child enjoys the world with healthy eyes throughout their life.

The Eye Center At Jackson serves patients in Jackson,Lakewood, Freehold and Tom's River, throughout New Jersey.