Myopia, also known as near-sightedness, is a refractive error of the eye in which light rays entering the eye are focused in front of the retina instead of directly on it. This causes distant objects to appear blurred, while near objects remain clear. In comparison to the normal rate of eye growth,myopia occurs when the eyeball grows quickly and becomes too long, or when the cornea is too curved. It can also be caused by an abnormal shape of the lens inside the eye.
Myopia typically begins to develop in children before age 10 and may continue to worsen throughout the teenage years and early adulthood. This ongoing deterioration of vision is referred to as myopia progression.
Myopia control means using proven intervention to keep your children’s myopia power as low as possible. This is not only to have thinner and lighter prescription lenses but also to prevent the eyeball from growing too long. The higher the myopic power, the longer the eyeball, which increases the risk of vision loss later in life.
Therefore, it is important that we keep their myopia power as low as possible, to safeguard their eye health for the future.
We, at Eyecare People, believe that one solution does not solve all problems. Every child is different and there is a strong need to personalise solution(s) depending on the situation of each child. We entrust ourselves to be well-trained in the latest myopia control technologies and options, so that we have an array of solutions to offer to our patients.
You are concerned about how being myopic can bring inconvenience to your child’s daily life, and may even affect their academic performance and future career choices.
You must have heard that myopia increases the risk of blindness! Hence, you need to do something to control it. You tried giving them a diet rich in Vit A, omega-3, and leafy vegetables, sitting further away from the TV, or even reducing digital device usage, but their spectacle prescription increases year after year.
You are feeling helpless and lost. If that is the case, let us help!
Scientists have found that myopia progression is fastest between the age of 7 to 12 years old. The younger a child develops myopia, the higher the risk of them developing high myopia. So we will want to see them early.
We strongly recommend that every child should go through a comprehensive eye check-up by age 6, so as to assess their risk of developing myopia. Risk factors include current vision status, family history, environmental risk, lifestyle risk, etc.
If a child is found to be at risk of myopia, we will educate both parents and child; suggest lifestyle modification and glasses or contact lenses if required, depending on each child's need.
There are new technologies that can slow down myopia progression by up to 59%*, including:
Our goal is to keep the myopia progression as slow as possible, thus reducing the risk of your child becoming high myopes. We understand that this is an important decision and the information out there can be overwhelming.
That is where we come in.
Examine the family history, environmental factors, and ocular status to determine the child’s myopia risk profile.
We will run a series of clinical tests, including assessing how well their eyes are working for seeing far and near, how well both eyes working in unison, measuring the length of the eyeballs, etc
You will be informed about your child’s current vision status, their risk factor(s), the latest myopia control technologies, its pros, and cons and of course its suitability to your child.
From here, we will customise a plan, whether it is to monitor myopia progression in your children or need immediate intervention.
For children with myopia, their eyeball is longer than the focusing mechanism of the eye. So their vision for seeing a faraway object is blurry. To control this, we recommend using glasses or contact lenses together with habits and lifestyle changes to give your child the best possible vision so that they can excel both academically and socially.
For many children, relaxation from studies is usually time with digital devices, which can contribute to further myopia progression.
Studies have found that spending more time out under the sun increases the release of a neurotransmitter in the body which impacts the rate of eyeball growth.
We will work with parents to counsel their children to have better visual habits and spend more time outdoors.
Ortho-K, also known as OK lens or orthokeratology. This is a speciality contact lens that acts like braces to the eyes. The lenses reshape the eye to allow clear vision in the daytime and control myopia at the same time. OK lenses often prove to be the most effective way in controlling myopia progression in children.
It has 3 key benefits:
1. It has been scientifically proven to slow down myopia progression.
2. These lenses are only worn at night during sleep, so parents have control during these lens-worn hours.
3. This is a totally reversible process.
Orthokeratology is one of our key myopia control solutions. Many children who are myopic and astigmatic are already on Orthokeratology treatment, where results have shown to be excellent for myopia control.
For children who are not suitable for Ortho-K lenses, there is also a soft contact lenses option. These soft contact lenses are worn during the day and are specially designed to control myopia progression and bring clear vision to the child at the same time.
These daily disposable contact lenses bring convenience. Also, there is no need to worry about protein/lipid deposits or build-up, therefore no more hassle in cleaning the lenses.
The role of soft contact lenses in controlling myopia is to slow down the rapid eye growth seen in children, by regulating the way images are focused on various parts of the retina, which is the light-sensitive layer situated at the back of the eye. The retina receives all visual information, and accurate focusing of light on the retina is crucial for clear vision.
Standard vision correction methods such as single-vision contact lenses or glasses focus the central part of the image on the retina for clear vision, while the peripheral light rays focus behind the retina. Research suggests that when these light rays focus light rays behind the retina, it sends a signal to the eye to grow faster, which is counterproductive for myopic eyes that are already growing too quickly. Myopia Control Soft contact lenses control myopia by reversing this pattern by directing peripheral light rays to focus in front of the retina. While central vision remains clear, this peripheral optical profile sends a signal to slow down eye growth, leading to a reduction in the progression of myopia.
For children who are not suitable (who have reading/eye muscles issues) or younger children who are not ready for contact lenses, there are also various spectacle options to control myopia.
These lenses are specifically designed to allow us to control where and how images are formed and positioned in the eyes.
This has also been found to be an effective method in slowing down myopia growth.
The children will also be educated by the practitioner on how to use the myopia glasses correctly.
NOTE: Traditional glasses and contact lenses do not slow down the progression of myopia. They help to correct your refractive errors and allow you to see clearly but do not have any form of myopia control. Myopia control solutions not only help children see clearly but more importantly slow down the progression of myopia by as high as 59%. The goal is to reduce the risk of possible future vision loss caused by blinding eye diseases due to high myopia.
We also offer a
Checking your child's eyes 4 times a year.
Keeping a close eye on your child's myopia status
Myopia is very common in Singapore, affecting more than 80% of the adult population here. Myopia in most cases is caused by the elongation of the eyeball, its symptom is blurry distance vision. The higher the myopia power, the longer the eyeball and thus increases the risk of vision loss due to glaucoma, cataract and retina pathology. It is important to know that traditional glasses, contact lenses and even refractive surgery, can help remove the symptoms of blurry vision, but does not solve the problem of increased risk of blindness due to excessive eyeball elongation. There are now myopia control technologies and methods that have been scientifically shown to slow down the progression of myopia.
When a child comes on board, we will put them through a Myopia Control Programme that includes a wide range of tests which determine contributing factors and likely causes leading to myopia increase before an appropriate control solution is recommended. As myopia control management is long-term, it is important that the parents and child understand, and together with the optometrist, commit to the solutions adopted prior to implementation.
Come talk to us together with your kid and understand what can be done about myopia. The consultation will help determine if your child has a high myopia risk profile and whether a yearly review is sufficient or a further evaluation is required.
Yes, 6/9 means your child needs to stand nearer to the object to see clearly, as compared to a child who has 6/6 vision and is still able to see clearly further away. It’s important that your child quickly get an eye check to determine if he/she really needs any spectacles.
Please bring the following:
•Existing spectacles or contact lens
•Existing myopia treatment plan information (if applicable)
Various speciality spectacle lenses and/or speciality soft contact lenses can also be customised for your child, depending on their lifestyle and habits. We only use myopia control technologies that are irreversible and non-invasive. No medication or surgical procedure is required.
As mentioned above, speciality spectacle lenses and soft contact lenses for myopia control are also available. When our optometrists mention a certain treatment option for your child, very often, they take into consideration the success control percentage of the recommended treatment, and what would match your child’s lifestyle and habits most. Most of our kids are first-time contact lens wearers and have no problem with it. We find our kids are highly compliant with contact lens care and they understand the importance of hygiene and following instructions that we set out for them. You’ll be surprised that kids are often better wearers than adults. Nevertheless, we always talk to the kids and their parents about their preferences before carrying forward any treatment options.
Myopia can be complicated, and it is difficult to pinpoint the exact cause that aggravates the progression in children. Factors including long hours of near work, lack of outdoor activities, growth of a child, eye muscles coordination, etc, may lead to myopia progression. Besides checking on the refractive status and the eye muscles coordination of the child, we also have advanced instrumentation to measure the actual length of the eyeball. Usually, the higher the myopia power, the longer the eyeball. However, for more holistic control management, we should not just focus on either the refractive status or eyeball length. We need to look at all the results to determine if a certain myopia control method is working well. Refractive power is an easy way to judge the progression but it is also equally important to monitor the eyeball length closely, so that we know if a certain method is not working well, we could switch to other options.
The cost of myopia control solutions ranges from $250 to $3400, depending on the form of myopia control technology used. Sometimes for aggressive progressors, a combination of solutions is required.
Yes, you can. In fact, if you find your child is squinting or tilting his/her head at a certain angle to see, it may be a good indication for an eye check-up for myopia. Giving your child a baseline eye check is important so that all of us know whether the eye is growing too quickly over in their growth years. We have parents bringing their kids at ages 4 to 5 to check on their eyes. Like a visit to the dentist, the care of a child’s eyes is extremely important. We often take our sight for granted until we start putting on glasses, and often with the clear vision provided by the glasses becoming a part of our lives, we often assume clear vision means good eye health. On the contrary, clear vision does not equate to healthy eyes. High myopia has been associated with many blinding eye conditions that often happen in late adulthood. The best time to start paying attention to your child’s eye is before they become myopia, especially if either or both parents are myopic and your child is spending excessive time on a digital device or near work. It is important to know that myopia in most cases is not reversible and is progressive.
Come speak to us about how to keep myopia away from your child.
