Myopia Management Blog

What does bilateral myopia mean?

Myopia (nearsightedness) is a vision impairment that causes difficulty in focusing on objects and signs that are far away. The condition is common among children and adults and can occur in one or both eyes. When it occurs in both eyes, it is called bilateral myopia.

Although bilateral myopia affects both eyes, the degree of vision prescription for each myopic eye may vary.

What causes bilateral myopia?

Bilateral myopia occurs when each eyeball is longer than normal, or when the cornea and/or lens is too curved. In rare cases, it can be due to the location of the lens and cornea relative to each other. A combination of these factors can also be responsible for bilateral myopia.

Bilateral myopia is typically detected in childhood, and it is more likely to occur if there is a family history of the condition.

SEE RELATED: What’s the difference between nearsightedness and farsightedness?

Symptoms of bilateral myopia

Bilateral myopia affects visual acuity in both eyes. This means symptoms are usually experienced in both eyes at the same time. Some common symptoms of bilateral myopia include:

• Blurred vision
• Squinting the eyes to see far-away objects more clearly
• Headaches
• Eye strain

Vision changes with age, so these symptoms can reoccur over time. This is often an indicator that your vision prescription needs to be updated. In some cases, vision may become weaker in one eye over time while the other eye remains the same.

You might be surprised by the notion of overnight vision correction. How could contact lenses possibly correct your vision while you sleep? Well, for starters, these are no ordinary contact lenses – these are Ortho K lenses. They’re designed to gently reshape the surface of your eye and in doing so, can correct many cases of short-sightedness. Once these lenses get to work at night and you remove them when you wake up in the morning, you won’t need to wear glasses or normal contact lenses during the day. Instead, you’ll experience crystal clear, pristine vision and freedom, of course.

Who is a candidate for OVC?
Nearsighted individuals who are too young for LASIK surgery or for some other reason are not good candidates for vision correction surgery. Because it can be discontinued at any time without permanent change to the eye, people of any age can try the procedure, as long as their eyes are healthy.
People who participate in sports, or who work in dusty, dirty environments that can make contact lens wear difficult.

How to Limit Your Child's Screen Time?

While unlimited time with electronics may keep your child busy, you don't want them to have too much screentime. That said, setting limits on TV and video games for kids isn't always easy in today's screen-filled world. Here are 10 tips parents can use to decide how much screentime is reasonable for their kids.

• Model Healthy Electronic Use
• Educate Yourself on Electronics
• Create “Technology-Free Zones”
• Set Aside Times to Unplug
• Use Parental Controls
• Explain Why You're Limiting Screen Time
• Ask for Your Child’s Passwords
• Encourage Other Activities
• Make Screen Time a Privilege
• Keep Your Child’s Bedroom Screen-Free

What is pathologic myopia?

Pathologic myopia is characterized by the presence of degenerative damage in the eyes. It is often the result of high myopia but can also occur in eyes that have not progressed to high myopia. Pathologic myopia (formerly myopic degeneration) is less common than high myopia and can lead to blindness.

Myopia (nearsightedness) is a common refractive error that makes faraway objects look blurry. Progressive myopia is nearsightedness that gets worse year after year. High myopia is a severe degree of nearsightedness. It can also lead to serious eye complications and blindness.

Pathologic myopia is not a degree of nearsightedness. It is a form of myopia that is diagnosed if specific types of degenerative damage develop at the back of the eye.

Degenerative means that the damage is progressive and reduces the tissues' ability to function. This is why pathologic myopia used to be called myopic degeneration or degenerative myopia.

Myopia is one of the most common vision problems in the world. It usually appears early in life and can progress and worsen over time.

If you’re a parent, you know that your child’s vision is one of the most important things to keep an eye on (pun intended). How can you help slow the progression of myopia (nearsightedness) in your child?

Thankfully, there are many options available to you to help slow the progression of myopia. This includes things you and your child can do at home like:

• Spending more time outdoors
• Making sure your child eats well
• Taking breaks from close-up work

Options available with the help of your optometrist include:

• Regular eye exams
• Wearing the right eyewear

There are several steps you can take to help slow myopia progression in your child, both at home and with the help of your trusted optometrist.

What Lens Can Be Used For Myopia Control?

Orthokeratology (Ortho-K)

Orthokeratology, also known as ortho-k, is a corneal reshaping lens. These durable and rigid contact lenses help control and correct myopia. They gently reshape the cornea overnight, allowing your child to see clearly throughout the day without needing corrective eyewear.

Ortho-k contact lenses flatten the centre of the cornea to change how light bends as it enters the eye, correcting your child’s vision. These lenses are safe and effective—2018 research discovered these contacts can slow myopia progression by 36–56% in children.

MiSight and Abiliti Contact Lenses

MiSight contact lenses and more recently Abiliti contact lenses have a unique design specialized for children with myopia. They’re disposable lenses your child replaces daily, making them easy and safe to use for even younger children. These lenses can help correct and control myopia by creating myopic defocus, a technique to change how the eye focuses light.

The lens centre helps correct your child’s vision, and contains different types of myopia treatment zones to help focus light in front of the retina instead of behind the retina, shifting your child’s focal point of vision and tricking the eye into not growing.

Soft daily myopia control contact lenses can help slow myopia progression by up to 59% in children.

SightGlass

SightGlass is a new way to help control and correct myopia in children. These eyeglasses feature thousands of micro-dots in the lens, helping scatter light and reduce contrast on the retina (D.O.T. technology).  2020 research found these glasses slowed myopia progression in 85% of the children in the study, with myopia progressing less than a dioptre.  This may be the best available lens option for younger age groups (especially <8 years old) and Foresee Eyecare is recognized as an authorized site that specializes in prescribing this lens.

MiyoSmart Glasses

MiyoSmart glasses can help your child see better while slowing myopic progression. These glasses utilize defocus incorporated multiple segments (D.I.M.S.) technology to help images focus in front of the retina instead of behind the retina, known as myopic defocus.

A MiyoSmart lens features a central zone for correcting myopia. Additionally, it has several ring-shaped zones surrounding the lens to slow myopia progression. 2019 research found that the DIMS technology used in MiyoSmart lenses can help slow myopia progression by up to 60% in children over 2 years.

Stellest Lenses

Stellest lenses feature H.A.L.T. technology to help correct and control your child’s myopia. These lenses have tons of tiny lenses (known as lenslets), which help slow down myopia progression. When worn 12 hours a day, Stellest lenses can slow myopia by up to 67%.