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Myopia control
At Central Vision Opticians, we understand that the best way to protect your child's vision is through actively managing their myopia, not just passively monitoring it.
What is short-sightedness (myopia)?
Short-sightedness means that the eyes are focused at a close distance (a short focal point). Objects that are far away will be blurred, while objects closer will appear clear. The more short-sighted a person is, the closer the focal point the eyes will be.
This means that the sufferer can’t see far away objects, such as looking at the board at school. It usually starts from the early teens but recently we’re seeing many kids where it has started at a much younger age. Even as young as 5.
What are the risks of myopia?
High levels of short sight significantly increase the risk of serious eye diseases such as retinal detachment and glaucoma later in life. It also makes extremely difficult for your child to see the board at school without glasses.
Short sight doesn’t just affect a child’s ability to learn at school. It can affect playing sports and other activities. In many cases we’ve seen, it can impact confidence and the ability to interact with others. These children suffer low esteem and, despite the Harry Potter effect, often get teased about wearing glasses.
If you’re short-sighted, then you already understand how the condition gets progressively worse, so you need stronger glasses every 6 months. You’re probably aware of struggling to see without your glasses on.
What can be done to help your child?
We use the latest technology to monitor your child's eyes, including state-of-the-art diagnostic instruments, so that we can track their vision health over time and adjust their myopia management plan as needed.
We have access to the latest options for myopia management, including contact lenses, proven to be effective in kids from the age of 5 in slowing down the progression of myopia.
You can rest assured that your child will always receive the more current option that is unique to their needs rather than a “one-size-fits-all” solution.
There are 3 main ways to manage the rate of progression of myopia
1
Orthokeratology contact lenses (also known as night lenses or OrthoK lenses) for overnight wear
Ortho-K lenses have been successfully used for myopia management and reducing the progression for over 15 years. They are rigid contact lenses that are worn overnight and gently reshape the cornea (the clear front surface of the eye). This means that when they are removed in the morning, the myopia is neutralised, and your child will have clear vision for the rest of the day.
They need to be worn again each night to keep the effect working. One of the most powerful and lucky “side-effects” of this way of correcting the sight is that the rate of change is slowed down by about half.
Children don’t need to wear anything else during the day. They can perform activities such as swimming or sports without the same risks as soft lenses or wearing glasses. The main limitations are that the initial fitting and adaptation can take much longer than the other methods and the range of prescriptions that can be fitted isn’t as wide as daily wear contact lenses.
2
Daily wear contact lenses
These lenses have a special optical treatment zone that successfully reduces the rate of change. The most well-known contact lens for myopia management for children is MiSight from Coopervision which is a dual-focus design, however, there are several lens options for management that may have advantages over MiSight for some children.
This includes children who need a stronger power than the range of MiSight or those who have more astigmatism. There is a type of contact lens for myopia management with enhanced optical properties called an Extended Depth of Focus (EDOF) lens design such as the NaturalVue or Seed lenses. These have a much larger power range and can treat a significant amount of astigmatism too.
If your child has even higher levels of short sight or astigmatism, don’t worry. We can help children who need stronger lenses and many who have been told elsewhere that it’s not possible to help them. We can supply custom-made soft contact lenses or special hybrid lenses such as the ID lenses from Synergeyes. These can correct significantly higher levels of myopia and astigmatism compared to all the other options.
3
Spectacle lenses
What happens if your child can’t wear or tolerate contact lenses?
Even though we have a very high success rate in helping children wear contact lenses (only about 5% can’t manage to wear them), thankfully we now have several options for new generations of spectacle lenses that can slow down the rate of deterioration.
We have successfully used the Miyosmart lens from Hoya and Stellest lens from Essilor. Both of which are great for slowing down the rate compared to regular glasses and traditional contact lenses.
Why choose Central Vision Opticians?
Central Vision Opticians were proud to be crowned as the UK's Myopia Management Practice of the Year in 2022 at the Optician Awards. We have over 10 years of multi-award-winning experience in helping to slow down the deterioration in children's myopia, safely and successfully.
Don’t take our word for it
See what some of our patients and parents are saying:
We have been really surprised and pleased with the results
My prescription was going up higher after every checkup and it was very high so we decided to come here and it hasn't changed in over two years now
I've already been telling other parents about you and passing on all the information you have given us
Are you worried about your child's risk of deterioration of short sightedness/myopia?
Call us now on 0208 343 1122 to book your appointment.