.png)
Short sightedness (myopia) is becoming more common among children. Research shows that children who spend more time indoors doing near-focused activities (such as reading, computer work, video games and mobile phone use) have higher rates of myopia than those who spend more time outdoors.
Prevention is better than cure. Good visual habits are recommended to help avoid developing myopia such as trying to get at least 2 hours of natural daylight each day when close work is not done…no books or phones! Research done in China, Hong Kong and at the Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) in Australia confirmed the huge increase in myopia is due to lack of sunlight and too much close work on books or screens.
There’s a free myopia calculator on the BHVI website so you can work out how myopic your child is likely to get if you input age, prescription and race (asian children are more at risk). Myopia is one of the biggest causes of blindness in the younger age groups as the retina is the size of a postage stamp and stretched over the enlarged myopic eye it can tear and break down causing vision loss.
There are a number of ways of treating myopia in children. Special designs of contact and spectacle lenses are effective in stopping or reducing child short sightedness. We provide all the types currently available in the UK including Ortho K contact lenses.
Spectacles with specialist lenses (Stellest and MiyoSmart) are currently the most popular choice for younger children but soft lenses (MiSight) can be worn from about age 8.
Mrs Juul's choice for her family was Ortho K lenses worn only at night for at least 6 hours. These small hard lenses act on the cornea to shape it safely to give clear vision during the day. This is ideal for school and sports as there are no lenses to fall out and get lost. We’ve been supplying Ortho K with great success for the last 16 years. However, for those parents and children who are nervous about handling Otho K lenses - soft contacts and spectacle lenses are a better choice. Soft lenses could also just be worn on sports days and spectacles the rest of the time.
We specialise in myopia management in children. There is more information available on our website here which also contains a link to the BHVI website.