Myopia, more commonly called nearsightedness, is becoming more and more of a problem every year. It isn’t just about blurry vision and headaches; long-term extreme myopia puts a person at risk of significant vision complications later in life. So when a child is diagnosed with myopia, it’s essential to intervene as early as you can—like through myopia control lenses.
Myopia control lenses, like the MiyoSmart eyeglass lenses or the MiSight contact lenses, are specialty designed to slow how much the eye changes over time. This can help preserve your child’s vision and lower their risk of further complications—all while giving them clear sight with use of the lenses. They’re an incredible way to invest in your child’s future!
What Is Myopia?
If you’ve ever tried to look through a magnifying glass, you know how tricky focusing light can be. If light hits the glass wrong, or if the lens itself isn’t at the exact required distance from your eye and the object, all you can see is blurriness.
The human eye is remarkably similar to this. Light needs to enter through the clear front lens and refract to a single point on the retina. It requires your eye to be shaped a specific way, and for your lens to be properly curved. So what happens if there’s a problem with one of the two?
When your eye grows too long or your cornea curves too steep, it’s called myopia. This condition causes light to refract incorrectly as it enters the eye; rather than focusing on the retina, it focuses in front of it. Light scatters and your brain doesn’t receive a crisp, clear image. Instead, it’s like a magnifying glass held at an angle—things are blurry and difficult to clearly see the further they get from the eye.
Because of this, myopia is commonly called “nearsightedness.” This progressive condition usually sets in around the age a child enters school and worsens as they grow, before usually stabilizing around the age of 20 or so.
The Signs & Symptoms of Myopia
When the eye is shaped incorrectly, your visual system and brain need to work harder to process what you’re seeing. This puts additional strain on both, often leading to:
- Blurred vision when looking at distant objects
- Squinting to see clearly
- Eye strain or discomfort
- Headaches due to eye fatigue
For many people, these symptoms are minor inconveniences, easily fixed with a pair of prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses. However, myopia can pose further problems than just blurry vision.
Because myopia develops due to a problem with the shape of the eye, it can put additional strain on the physical structure of the eye itself. This becomes more problematic when a severe case of myopia develops.
The elongation of the eyeball can lead to tearing, scarring, or pulling on the back of the eye. This puts a person at risk of retinal detachment or other permanent issues that can lead to long-term vision loss.
This is why it’s so essential to treat and manage myopia wherever possible—especially in younger children. By addressing the problem early, you’re doing more than just giving your child clear vision. You’re investing in their long-term health.
What Is Myopia Control?
The term “myopia control” refers to a range of methods and treatments designed to slow how far the eye elongates over time. The goal is to limit how far myopia itself can progress to preserve more of a child’s vision while giving them clear eyesight throughout the treatment.
There are several types of myopia control, but here at Insight Eyecare we typically recommend one of these two options:
- MiyoSmart eyeglass lenses
- MiSight contact lenses
MiyoSmart Lenses
When you wear regular eyeglass lenses, they change how light enters the eye. They accommodate your natural refractive error to make your vision clearer.
MiyoSmart eyeglass lenses take this one step further. These are advanced eyeglass lenses that work based on something called “defocus incorporated multiple segments” or D.I.M.S. technology. With this, the lenses include a small honeycomb-shaped treatment area alongside a clear area.
While the clear zone provides you with clear vision, the honeycomb-shaped segments alter light as it enters the eye. This helps to send signals to the eye that it can slow the natural elongation. By using these glasses, you can slow your child’s myopia progression by almost 60%!
MiSight Contact Lenses
MiSight is the world’s first soft contact lens proven to slow the progression of myopia in children. These lenses are soft daily-disposables, meaning that they’re a one-time use—your child doesn’t have to worry about regularly cleaning the lenses.
These lenses force the eye into something called “periphery defocus” similar to the MiyoSmart lenses. They subtly send signals to the eye to slow its growth. These contact lenses have been proven to slow myopia progression by an average of 59%.
Talk to Us About Myopia Control
If your child has been diagnosed with myopia, come talk to our team at Insight Eyecare. We can discuss solutions to help control your child’s myopia. We’re here for you and your family, so book an appointment with us today!
