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Myopia management

In myopia management, as well as prescribing lenses to achieve clear vision, we also aim to slow down the progression of short-sightedness.

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What is myopia (short sightedness)?

Clear vision occurs when light is focused on the retina (the back of the eye). For someone with myopia (the technical term for short sightedness) light comes into focus too far forward in the eye, causing distance objects to appear blurred. This is because the eye is too long for the power of the eye.

How short sighted am I?

Severity Measure
Low up to -3.00 DS
Intermediate -3.00 DS to -5.00 DS
High More than -5.00 DS

Why is myopia a problem?

As well as needing thicker glasses or contact lenses to correct higher levels of myopia, myopia brings an increased risk of eye disease and poor vision.  Having myopia increases the risk of eye disease, in particular retinal detachment, myopic macula degeneration and glaucoma. The higher the myopia, the greater the risk.

Over many years, research has been carried out to find an effective way to influence the tendency for myopia to get worse as children grow and develop .  Recently there have been some exciting new developments in the area of myopia management and we now have several options to consider, both in spectacle lenses and contact lenses.

Did you know?

  • If one or both parents are short sighted, this increases the risk of a child becoming myopic.
  • Each generation tends to be more short sighted than the previous.
  • The younger a child first becomes myopic the higher their myopia is likely to become.
  • UK prevalence of myopia has doubled in the last 50 years.
  • 50-53% of UK university students are now myopic.
  • Things are even worse in Asia; 93% of Taiwanese medical students are myopic.
  • Myopia is now the most common cause of impaired vision (poor vision even with glasses) in the developed world.

What is myopia management?

In the past, we have had no option but to simply correct myopia with conventional spectacles or contact lenses to focus light at the back of the eye. Now, following extensive research and lens development, we have options to both correct myopia and reduce the progression of short sightedness.

At Keyes Eyecare, we have two options for myopia control. These can either be used separately or in conjunction with one another. These options are contact lenses developed for myopia management and a new spectacle lens, MiyoSmart.

Using this approach, myopic progression can be reduced on average by 50%. This is highly significant, both in terms of the level of myopia that a child develops as they grow and reducing the risk of complication associated with myopia.  It is important to note however, that this is an average so some children will have a better reduction in the rate of progression, some will have results that aren’t as good.

 

How does myopia management work? 

Conventional spectacle lenses or contact lenses correct Myopia by diverging central light so it comes into focus at the back of the eye.

However, not all light coming into the eye behaves in the same way; light focussing in the eye peripherally behaves differently to the light coming in centrally.

In children who are becoming myopic, the peripheral light tends to focus behind the retina. Because this peripheral light does not focus on the retina it is thought that the eye responds by growing. Whilst the larger eye reduces peripheral blurring, it also makes the eye increasingly myopic. By wearing glasses or contact lenses prescribed for myopia control, peripheral blur can be managed, and the growth of the eye reduced. Doing this reduces the severity of myopia. On average a 50% reduction in myopia progression is achieved.

What costs are involved?

Our myopia management scheme is £48 per month. The plan covers either spectacle management using MiYOSMART spectacle lenses or contact lens management using MiSight daily disposable contact lenses.

 

For MiSight contact lenses the Direct Debit plan includes:

  • All appointment fees
  • Daily disposable contact lenses
  • Replacement contact lenses if needed(other contact lens options may be advised, for a supplementary monthly fee)

For MiYOSMART spectacle lenses the Direct Debit plan includes:

  • All appointment fees
  • A frame with MiYOSMART spectacle lenses
  • One pair of replacement MiYOSMART spectacle lenses if any damage or loss occurs

 

zosia at Keyes Eyecare
zosia says:

What can I do to reduce risk levels of myopia in my child? 

  • Encourage your child to read at a distance greater than 30 cm.
  • Take a break from near vision tasks every 30 minutes.
  • Spending two or three hours a day outside reduces the likelihood of becoming highly myopic. Spending school breaks and lunchtime outside is a great start. Just don’t forget to protect you child from harmful UV light by encouraging them to wear sunglasses and a hat.

 This is known as the 30 : 30 : OUT rule

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Currently research shows an average 50% reduction in myopic progression with myopia management lenses. As an average figure, some patients will benefit much more than this, whilst others much less. We also would never know how much more short-sighted an individual might have become without myopia management.

Research has shown that primary school children do very well with contact lenses and we have many children wearing contact lenses successfully. We allow plenty of time to teach them how to insert and remove their lenses as well as look after their eyes and lenses. We feel that our success in fitting younger children with contact lenses is because we do so in a fun and engaging way.

We recommend that children consider myopia management as soon as they start to become short-sighted.

Children usually adjust very quickly to the lenses and we are yet to have a child who hasn’t adapted to the lens. However, this is something our dispensing optician would monitor carefully by the use of questionnaires and reviews.

The average reduction in myopic progression is slightly better in MiyoSmart glasses than contact lenses, but there are other advantages to contact lenses.

For many children, the best approach will be to wear myopia control contact lenses for sport and in situations where glasses get in the way, with myopia control glasses worn for the rest of the day.

Because myopia is a particular concern in children, all of the research has focused on children developing myopia. We don’t yet know what effect myopia management lenses will have on those who develop short sightedness later in life.

MiyoSmart lenses only look different under close inspection. Otherwise, they look the same as conventional spectacle lenses.
Happy Customers

Keyes offers a first class service – can't rate it highly enough. The team are so supportive & knowledgeable. My son has been part of the Myopia control study for 18 months now and his previously rapidly deteriorating eyesight has not worsened AT ALL since he started wearing the contact lenses. We are both very grateful for the service & support we receive from Keyes!

J
Patient Feedback
andrew

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