What is Myopia ?

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Myopia, also called nearsightedness or shortsightedness, is the eye condition where objects nearby or a short distance away are clear but objects that are far away are blurred. It is caused by the eye being slightly too long.

 

Why Myopia Progression is a concern?

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In high myopia, the eyeball stretches and becomes too long. This can lead to holes or tears in the retina and can also cause retinal detachment. Abnormal blood vessels may grow under the retina and cause changes in vision.

 

Are Myopia curable ?

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No, Myopia forms because the eye grows too long. There is no anatomical method to shrink an eyeball short of cutting part of it off, but we can control eye growth and to then interrupt that control.

 

What Is Myopia Control?

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Although an outright cure for nearsightedness has not been discovered, your eye doctor can now offer a number of treatments that may be able to slow the progression of myopia.

These treatments can induce changes in the structure and focusing of the eye to reduce stress and fatigue associated with the development and progression of nearsightedness.

Currently, three types of treatment are showing promise for controlling myopia:

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• Atropine eye drops

• Multifocal contact lenses

• Orthokeratology ("ortho-k")

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What is Orthokeratology?

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Orthokeratology is the use of specially designed gas permeable contact lenses that are worn during sleep at night to temporarily correct nearsightedness and other vision problems so glasses and contact lenses aren't needed during waking hours.

Some eye doctors use "ortho-k" lenses to also control myopia progression in children. Evidence suggests nearsighted kids who undergo several years of orthokeratology may end up with less myopia as adults, compared with children who wear eyeglasses or regular contact lenses during the peak years for myopia progression.