Is it possible to cure your myopia?
The most common refractive error of the eyes in both children and adults is myopia, also referred to as nearsightedness.
A global epidemic of myopia is considered to exist. In fact, a recent study by the American Optometric Association found that myopia affects more than 40% of Americans, and that number is rising, particularly among school-age children. According to statistics, one in four parents have a child who is myopic, and 75% of those kids had their condition diagnosed when they were between the ages of three and twelve.
These figures are concerning; according to one study, the prevalence of myopia has increased by 8% over the previous 15 years. Can myopia be treated now with all the advances in eye care technology? And if it is not successfully treated, managed, or cured? In order to restore distance vision in myopic children and adults, let’s explore the options.
What Is Myopia?
A typical refractive error that makes it challenging to see distant objects clearly is myopia. When light entering the eye is not properly focused on the retina at the back of the eye, refractive error occurs.
Nearsighted people typically see nearby objects as clear while distant objects appear blurry. Although standard contact lenses and eyeglasses can correct someone’s vision, neither can stop or delay the progression of myopia.
Myopia typically develops during childhood and tends to worsen as the eyes grow rapidly. Between the ages of 8 and 18, when it typically stabilizes, it can advance slowly or quickly.
Myopia involves more than just needing corrective lenses or glasses. As the child’s myopia worsens, he or she is more likely to suffer from serious eye conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal detachment later in life, which can cause irreversible vision loss or blindness.
Why Is Severe Myopia An Eye Condition?
Nearsightedness known as progressive myopia is a condition that gets worse over time.
Myopia is a condition that can raise the risk of developing sight-threatening eye diseases in the future, not just a number on an optical prescription that requires corrective lenses for vision clarity.
The risk of developing conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal detachment rises when myopia progresses rapidly, with a significant increase in optical prescription over the course of a year.
Can Myopia Be Cured?
The question “Can Myopia be Curbed?” is frequently posed as more parents become aware of the condition.” The short answer is no, but there are now promising treatments for myopia that we can apply to children in a similar way to how we apply treatments for other diseases like diabetes. “To make someone healthy again, or to cause an illness to go away,” according to the Cambridge Dictionary.” In light of this, there is no effective way to reduce the length of the eyeball, so myopia cannot currently be cured. Eye elongation cannot be stopped once it begins, which typically occurs in childhood. Even though adults can have LASIK surgery to help them see clearly, their eyes still remain too long. We can currently prescribe glasses or contact lenses to help a person see clearly at a distance, reducing the myopia symptom of blurry distance vision. However, it only manages the symptom and does not address the root cause of myopia.
Myopia cannot be cured, but it can be managed to prevent further development or at least slow it down. These treatments are aimed at children, typically aged 6 to 15, because myopia usually manifests and develops in childhood. Some of the patients I take care of range in age from 4 to 17. Myopia management or treatment aims to slow down or lessen the eye’s accelerated growth. Effective treatment involves more than just clearing up children’s blurry vision; it also entails halting the decline of a child’s vision and, as a result, lowering the lifetime risk of serious eye diseases brought on by myopia. Numerous therapies have been shown to be successful in treating childhood myopia over the past ten years.
How Myopia Be Treated?
There is no doubt that you would adore discovering a method to a little more effectively control your vision. Through childhood and adolescence, myopia can progressively worsen before stabilizing in adulthood. Though the lack of a cure can be discouraging, newly developed techniques may be of assistance.
Myopia control can help you or your child stop the progression of the condition by using particular myopia control lenses or by getting myopia treatment.
Myopia Control Lenses
Myopia control and correction strategies are currently being developed. Wearing the appropriate prescription lenses is the simplest way to manage myopia in children.
Atropine
Atropine is a medication that is administered through eye drops and is a different way to slow down myopia. Prior to this, it was applied to patients with high myopia, and there were some indications that the progression was slowed.
Orthokeratology
Another option that is becoming more prevalent is to look into other therapies. Although it might sound a little strange, there is a treatment called orthokeratology that can lessen the effects of myopia. It entails donning unique contact lenses all night to help reshape the surface of your eye, enabling you to see clearly without the aid of glasses.
When you wake up, take out the lenses so you can see clearly all day long without glasses! To determine if this is the best course of treatment for you, talk to your optometrist.
Laser Eye Surgery
When the progression of myopia has stabilized in adulthood, you may want to consider having laser eye surgery, which can be an efficient long-term myopia treatment. Presbyopia and other age-related vision problems won’t be prevented by this, though.
Multifocal Contact Lenses
Additionally, soft contact lenses can be a helpful tool for reducing myopia. Multifocal contact lenses that have been specially modified are available to help slow the progression of the condition. This has sometimes been just as successful as orthokeratology.
Future Cures
There is a lot more knowledge about vision care and its solutions for your vision needs thanks to modern technology and research. Science demonstrates that myopia progression and myopia control are becoming easier to access, providing advantages for you and your kids in terms of maintaining good eye health.
Treatments To Slow And Prevent Myopia Progression
There is currently no known treatment for myopia, but there are some that can slow or even stop it altogether in children and young adults.
To develop treatment plans specific to your child’s needs, our experts work closely with each family and your child. In order to achieve the best results, we thoroughly assess your child’s vision, recommend the best course of action, and monitor their progress. In order to assess the efficacy of the treatment, follow-up visits are typically scheduled every 6 to 12 months.
Other Ways To Slow Or Prevent Myopia
Outdoor Activity And Natural Lighting
According to a recent study published by Ophthalmic Research (2020), children who spend more time outside (at least 14 hours per week) have lower levels of myopia (or none at all) as compared to those who spend significantly fewer hours outdoors.
Limited Time On Devices
Another study, published by PLOS One (2015), found a relationship between near-work activities and myopia progression. While more research is required, a number of studies have found a link between myopia and spending too much time on near-work activities like reading, using a computer, and playing video games on mobile devices. Therefore, eye doctors advise parents to monitor and restrict how much time their child spends using a phone or other digital devices.
To find out if your child, who has myopia, could benefit from this game-changing treatment, schedule a myopia management assessment. The best treatment to give the child and when to start myopia management will depend on their age, maturity level, and lifestyle.
