What Is Myopia In Children And Why Should You Care?

Myopia is a common eye condition that can affect children between the ages of 6 to 14, so much so that it affects up to 5% of preschoolers, 9% of school-aged children, and nearly 30% of adolescents. Also known as nearsightedness, myopia results in poor, blurry distance vision. It is a phenomenon where the shape of the eyes causes light rays to refract erroneously and results in images focusing in front of the retina rather than on the retina.

Myopia is on the rise in general, especially in children. This may be due to the increased time spent looking at electronic devices. It could also be a consequence of more time spent on screens because of quarantine policies during the pandemic. Or simply not enough time spent outdoors in the natural light (which can help slow or stop the progression of myopia)

Symptoms of Myopia

Symptoms of myopia can include frequent complaints of blurry vision, frequent eye rubbing, and complaints of headaches. You can test if your child has myopia by going for a vision screening at your pediatrician’s office or at school. If he or she failed the test, then they might need to see an optometrist and get properly tested for myopia.

Treating Myopia

To help to lower the risk of myopia, it is ideal to encourage your child to take multiple breaks from their screen times, go for daily walks and limit recreational screen time that is not related to their studies.  Some of the options for treating myopia are shown below.

• Glasses

Currently there are no FDA-approved glasses to help slow and stop the progression of myopia. Regular precription glasses only correct vision, not treat the underlying problem. That said, some children may still require use of daytime glasses during their myopia treatement depending on the modality used.

• Contact Lenses

You could also opt for contact lenses if your child prefers them. This is especially convenient for children who are active in sports like swimming, where glasses would be especially inconvenient. However, the choice to opt for contact lenses requires the ability to practice good hygiene given that contact lenses require constant and daily care to prevent eye infections. There are two contact lense treatment options when choosing Treehouse Eyes.

Treehouse Eyes’ Overnight Contact Lenses are specially designed to be worn only in the evening as your child goes to bed. As such, our Overnight Contact Lenses should be worn during sleep and taken out in the morning before your child prepares for the day. Specifically called KIDS Lenses, these lenses are custom-made for each child to gently and comfortably reshape the cornea, which is the clear front surface of the eye. It’s incredibly important to ensure that our Overnight Contact Lenses are tailored to each child as everyone’s eye shape is different. If the lenses do not fit a particular eye shape, the eyes may get infected by a corneal abrasion. As such, at Treehouse Eyes, each child will undergo a consultation to receive his or her very own lenses that are fitted to their unique eye shape. Over time, you’ll find that your child’s myopia will stop progressing.

Our Daytime Soft Contact Lenses are meant to be worn during the day as your child attends school, activities, and many more. During the evening when they’re about to head to bed, they should take off these contacts. What makes our Daytime Soft Contact Lenses one-of-a-kind is their optical design, which is specially crafted to provide clear vision during the daytime, yet slow down the progression of myopia at the same time. Before prescribing these contacts, your child would undergo a consultation with one of our licensed doctors.

• Low-dose atropine eye drops

These eye drops are specifically used to dilate the pupils during an eye exam and have the chance to slow down myopia in young children. If your child does not wish to wear our Overnight Contact Lenses, he or she can opt for another alternative, which is our Prescription Eye Drops Atropine. Atropine has a number of medical uses and our Prescription Eye Drops are specially formulated to contain a certain concentration that helps to reduce the progression of myopia over time. As everyone’s eyes are different, our doctors would recommend your child a specific time to apply our Prescription Eye Drops.

Our consultations are personalized for each child and use state-of-the-art equipment to come up with a tailored treatment plan. Our Prescription Eye Drops, just like all our other products, are non-invasive and FDA approved. While there will always be risks involved with any medical procedures, our doctors would ensure these risks are minimized by having follow-up sessions and deciding on a suitable treatment.

Let TreeHouse Eyes Help Your Child Manage Myopia

Treehouse Eyes’ doctors use modern equipment to develop personalized treatment plans for your child. Our treatment plans include special prescription eye drops and customized daytime and overnight contact lenses. Do not fret any longer if you notice your child squinting when reading storybooks, sitting too close to the TV, or have complaints of blurry vision, bouts of eye rubbing, and complaints of headaches. At Treehouse Eyes, we will be able to determine which treatment plan works the best for your child at your first consultation with our Treehouse Eyes doctor. Schedule a consultation now to find out more.