Central Saanich Optometry

Myopia

Vision-info

Myopia

Myopia, better known as nearsightedness, has grown to epidemic proportions in recent years, particularly among children and teenagers. Unfortunately, not enough parents take this condition seriously as they don’t recognize that the consequences can go beyond requiring glasses. Left untreated, myopia can lead to serious complications and eye health issues.

Prevalence

The prevalence of myopia is increasing year over year. In the United States, myopia has increased 66% in the past 30 years, and today 42% of people aged 12-54 are myopic. In some developed Asian countries, a staggering 80-90% of young adults are myopic.

Researchers aren’t exactly sure what causes myopia, or why it’s becoming increasingly common, but there are some strong theories. While a genetic predisposition does increase risk, so do lifestyle factors such as little time outdoors, not enough sunlight, spending too much time doing close-up work, and eating a high sugar or high carb diet.

What exactly is Myopia?

While you may be familiar with the term nearsighted, which means that far away objects appear blurry, most people don’t know that the distortion in vision is actually caused by the physical lengthening of the eyeball. As the myopia worsens, the eye grows longer in length.

When you look at something through a healthy eye, light is reflected off that object and into your cornea and lens at the front of your eye, which bend the light to focus on your retina at the back of your eye. But in a myopic eye, the stretch of the eye makes the focal point fall short, and as a result, only close objects appear crisply.

Myopia

Why Treatment is Important

If you think glasses are the worst part of myopia (and that glasses aren’t so bad), you’re not alone, and that’s part of the problem. It is important to be aware of, and address, the symptoms of myopia as quickly as possible before they escalate..

Children who have trouble seeing words on a blackboard, looking at TV screens, or tracking moving objects in sports can lead to children having poor academic, athletic, or work performance due to eye strain.

In worse cases, myopia can develop into more advanced stages. The eye can continue to lengthen to the point of retinal detachment or other degenerative changes, including abnormal blood vessel growth, macular degeneration, glaucoma or cataracts.

If your doctor does determine you have myopia, you can discuss different options to help treat or slow it down.

Treatment Options

LOW-DOSE ATROPINE EYE DROPS

Low-dose Atropine drops can be prescribed to slow the progression of myopia in children and teens. A recent study on Atropine for the treatment of myopia showed that low-dose atropine drops can help reduce the growth of the eye by 50%, thereby slowing the progression of myopia. The drops may have side effects, so it’s a good idea to discuss candidacy in detail with your optometrist.

Ortho-k

Ortho-k (Orthokeratology) is currently the most effective prescription lens solution for myopia correction and reduction, with multiple studies reporting effectiveness of 33-100%. It involves retainer lenses that are worn overnight to reshape the surface of the eyeball while sleeping to allow patients to go without glasses or contact lenses during the day. Research has shown that corneal reshaping can slow the progression of childhood myopia, making it a great alternative to glasses, or solution for those too young for LASIK. Book an appointment with your optometrist to find out if you’re a good candidate.

MULTIFOCAL GLASSES OR CONTACT LENSES

If your child is not an ideal candidate for Ortho-k, day-time multifocal contact lenses offer another prescription lens solution. If neither Ortho-k nor multifocal contact lenses are an option, myopic patients are encouraged to wear multifocal glasses.

Book an Appointment

Book online
logo

Legal Notice

The information below applies to all the information contained on the cseyecare.com Website.

The users of this Website agree to comply with the terms set out below.


TERMS OF USE

Central Saanich Optometry Clinic owns and operates a Website at cseyecare.com (hereinafter referred to as the “site” or “Website”). Central Saanich Optometry Clinic® trademark except as otherwise noted on the site, which is accessible to all users (hereinafter referred to as the “user” or “users”). Refrain from using this Website unless you agree to comply with the conditions.

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH INFORMATION

Information on this Website is intended for informational purposes only and has no contractual value. Central Saanich Optometry Clinic reserves the right to modify the content of this site. At any time, without prior notice. Central Saanich Optometry Clinic assumes no liability for errors or omissions in the content of this Website or for information reliability or completeness of said information.

Information published on this Website is based on marketing, statistical or commercial services or other sources the Central Saanich Optometry Clinic considers reliable and are the sole responsibility of their authors and not of Central Saanich Optometry Clinic. We do not assume any liability for the accuracy or completeness of said information and in no circumstance should this information be regarded as such. Opinions and information as presented on this site reflect our position as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice.

UPDATING OF THE WEBSITE UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF Central Saanich Optometry Clinic

Central Saanich Optometry Clinic, its employees and directors will not be liable for damages incurred as a result of the information published on this site, for the views and advice published, expressed or implied regardless of its nature.

Central Saanich Optometry Clinic expressly refuses any and all responsibility for the manner in which the user of the site may use the information contained, in any decisions that may be made and in the actions that may or may not be taken based on said information.

COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

Presentations made and contained on this site are the intellectual property of Central Saanich Optometry Clinic. Reproduction in whole or in part of this site on any other medium in prohibited without the express permission of Central Saanich Optometry Clinic.

User may solely use the information contained on this site for personal use. Reproduction in whole or in part of said information on paper may only be performed for personal use. Said information is not to be copied, distributed or transmitted to third parties nor may it be inserted in a document or other medium.

HYPERTEXT LINKS

The links to external Websites and their content shall not be prejudged and Central Saanich Optometry Clinic will in no way be held responsible for any direct or indirect prejudice that may result from gaining access to and usage of said sites.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Central Saanich Optometry Clinic draws the attention of the user to the fact that all communication transmitted through this Website remains in the public domain and not the private domain. OSI cannot accept responsibility for the security of the transmission of information.

The confidentiality and integrity of the information circulating over the internet cannot be ensured. Central Saanich Optometry Clinic cannot accept responsibility in the case that data contained on this site is intercepted.

Central Saanich Optometry Clinic site uses cookies. These cookies are small text files saved on the hard disk of a user's computer. These files are completely harmless and cannot contain viruses. These cookies are used to analyze visits to the site. Central Saanich Optometry Clinic calls upon Google Analytics to help track how users use the site. The number of visitors, path taken to access the site and length of each visit are measured. The cookies cannot, in any way, identify the user. All data is completely anonymous and compiled solely for the purpose of improving the site and tailoring the content to the needs of its visitors.

The person responsible for the protection of personal information is the owner of : Central Saanich Optometry Clinic

VIRUSES AND TECHNICAL GLITCHES

Central Saanich Optometry Clinic makes no representations that the content of this site is free of infections, viruses, worms, Trojan horses and/or other codes with contaminating or destructive properties. It is the user's responsibility to take protective measures.

Central Saanich Optometry Clinic DECLINES ALL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE EVENT OF ANY INTERRUPTION OR NON-AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICE

Under no circumstances shall Central Saanich Optometry Clinic be held responsible for transmission errors of any sort, such as loss of or damage to data, or changes of any type whatsoever, including direct or indirect damage resulting from the use of the services provided on this site.

JURISDICTION

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the province of British Columbia. Any dispute arising of this Agreement shall be brought before the court in the judicial district of Central Saanich Optometry Clinic's head office.
Address:
1-7865 Patterson Rd
Saanichton, BC
V8M 2C7;
Tel: 250 544-2210.

PUBLISHING FIRM

Central Saanich Optometry Clinic
1-7865 Patterson Rd
Saanichton, BC
V8M 2C7
Tel: 250 544-2210