WHAT IS MYOPIA & THE CONTROL

Retinal Imaging

Myopia or short-sightedness means that people see distant objects as blurry.

1 in 3 people in the UK are affected by myopia and it is estimated that half the world’s population will be myopic by 2050.

Myopia typically starts developing before age 10, and then can progress every few to several months in children and teenagers. It is caused by the eyes growing quickly and too long for the normal rate of eye growth.

Myopia is usually treated/corrected by spectacles or contact lenses, which fix the focus of the eye to create clear vision while they are worn, but do not fix the myopia. This correction option - single vision glasses or contact lenses - have been found to offer no protection against myopia progression.

Is Myopia Bad?

Myopia is a health condition of the eyes which increases risk of vision problems and eye diseases. These are some of the eye conditions and complications:

glaucoma – increased pressure inside the eyes
retinal detachment – where the retina pulls away from the back surface of the eye
myopic maculopathy - where vision fades away and can completely degenerate from the centre of your vision

It’s not just about a pair of glasses, and it can’t just be ‘fixed’ with laser surgery because once the eye grows too long, this can't be reversed and the eye health risk will always be a concern.

What Is Myopia Control?

'Myopia control' has become the increasingly adopted term to describe the use of treatments aimed to slow progression of myopia.

These treatments include special types of spectacle lenses, soft contact lenses, ortho-k and atropine eye drops.

Myopia control is particularly important for children, because this is the stage in life when myopia is most likely to progress or worsen quickly. Myopia control is also important in teenagers, however a teenagers rate of progression should be a lot slower.

Even young adults can also suffer myopia progression.

Myopia control treatments have been mostly researched in children from around age 5 through to 18.

The short-term benefits of myopia control are better vision and quality of life.

The long-term benefits of myopia control are reducing the risks of eye health problems and vision impairment across a person's lifetime.

Treatments Options

There are currently 2 specialty myopia control spectacle lens designs and 1 contact lens available to optometrists.

The Essilor Stellest spectacle lens adopts Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target (H.A.L.T.) Technology. It features 11 concentric rings of highly aspherical lenslets. Each ring features lenslets of a different power, and within a ring the lenslets are contiguous (touching). There is a 9mm clear central zone, and spaces between each ring, for sharp distance vision.
The Hoya MiYOSMART spectacle lens adopts Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) Technology. The lenslets in this lens are all of the same power, and are not touching, instead in a honeycomb array. It also has a clear central zone of 9mm and there are spaces between each lenslet for sharp distance vision.
MiSight contact lenses by Coopervision. A daily disposable contact lens. It is a centre distance dual focus concentric ring design with alternating distance vision correction zones (two) and treatment zones with +2.00D of defocus (two). It is NOT a multifocal contact lens in the traditional sense of those prescribed for presbyopia. Instead, MiSight 1 day is a dual-focus lens which is designed to create simultaneous defocus on the retina for both distance and near viewing - with an image falling on the retina to correct myopia and the +2.00D of defocus falling in front of the retina to create myopic defocus as a 'slow-down' signal for childhood eye growth.

Although there is currently no cure for myopia, having regular eye tests to monitor your vision and overall health allow us to make recommendations for the best eyecare for you and your family.

We at M S Kalsi Opticians have extensive experience in myopia management and can advise whether your child is suitable to be treated. Every child is different and each treatment is tailored to suit both the child and the type of correction that needs to be managed.

Spectacle Lenses are £300 (this can be paid in 1 go or using our direct debit scheme at £50 a month)
Contact lenses are £50 a month
Regular check ups are included
We also check biometry of the eye (axial length) using our OCT system (Only at Banstead)