Myopia is becoming increasingly prevalent, with the World Health Organiusation (WHO) predicting that buy 2050, 50% of the worlds population will be myopic.
A childhood diagnosis of myopia means you are at greater risk of developing vision threatening complications such as retinal detachments, glaucoma and myopic maculopathy. Unfortunately myopia has a tendency to only get worse, and this progression is much more rapid the younger you are when first diagnosed.
How do we control myopic progression? Thanks to a significantly large amount of research in this area, we are now able to provide a number of options for slowing down the progression of myopia, including both Orthokeratology and Specialist soft contact lenses.
Samir is accredited to fit and supply both Menicon Bloom Day and Menicon Bloom Night lenses.
MYOPIA CONTROL
ORTHOKERATOLOGY
Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) therapy involves the overnight wear of specially designed contact lenses, which temporarily change the shape of the front surface of the eye (the cornea). The changes to the cornea occur overnight, and remain after the lenses have been removed in the morning, providing clear vision without the need to wear contact lenses/spectacles during the waking day. It has also been proven to slow down the progression of myopia.
Ortho-K is safe, effective, non-invasive, and is also totally reversible.
SOFT LENSES
For those who are not suitable for Ortho-K, an alternative is to wear specially designed soft lenses. These lenses have a unique design, which allows them to alter how light enters the eye, thus slowing down the progression of myopia.
MYOPIA CALCULATOR
Many parents often ask me, ‘just how myopic will my child become if we don’t do anything at all. It is a very difficult question to answer as every child is different, and has different genetics, family history, environment etc. However, there is a wonderful tool that be found at the BHVI website - it is their ‘Myopia Calculator’. Simply enter a few details, such as age of child and prescription, and the calculator is able to give you an idea of the end point of myopic progression.
