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Having your child’s myopia diagnosed early not only helps their vision now, but it can help slow the progression of myopia, preserving their vision and their eye health for the future.

Having your child’s myopia diagnosed early not only helps their vision now, but it can help slow the progression of myopia, preserving their vision and their eye health for the future.

THINKING OF THE FUTURE

What is myopia?

Myopia means short-sightedness - a common condition where you cannot see clearly when trying to focus on objects which are far away. It's usually corrected with glasses or contact lenses.

1 in 3 people in the UK are affected by myopia¹, though this is expected to increase significantly worldwide due to changes in trends and lifestyle. For example, these days children engage in many more close-work activities such as using mobile phones and tablets. Spending less time outdoors is also a factor to consider.
More time spent on digital devices is a concern

In the UK, the prevalence of myopia in children aged between 10-16 years has more than doubled over the last 50 years²

There is nothing more important than the health and well-being of your child. As well as visual difficulties, myopia can cause health problems in later years. A highly short-sighted person can be more susceptible to eye conditions such as glaucoma, retinal detachments and myopic maculopathy, which can all cause significant loss of vision, and can even lead to blindness.

By 2050 it is estimated that 50% of the world's population will be short-sighted, a fifth of whom will be at high risk of sight-threatening conditions as a result.³

By 2050 it is estimated that 50% of the world's population will be short-sighted, a fifth of whom will be at high risk of sight-threatening conditions as a result.

Signs of myopia

Tell-tale signs include:

  • Difficulty reading words from afar, such as reading the board at school
  • Frequently rubbing the eyes
  • Sitting too close to the television or computer, or holding mobile phones or tablets close to the face
  • Needing to squint or partially close the eyes to see more clearly
  • Frequent headaches
Myopia usually starts from a young age, when children are around 6 to 13 years-old, though it can also occur in adults. It often runs in the family and can become worse until the eye has stopped growing, at around 20 years of age. If both parents are myopic, their child has a 50% chance of becoming myopic too.⁴
Boy sitting too close to television
Boy rubbing his eyes
Boy in classroom

Myopia Care

There are healthy ways to try to slow down myopia...
Studies have shown that increasing outdoor time may slow myopia progression. It is considered that natural outdoor light on the retina protects the eye from lengthening and therefore becoming short-sighted. Anecdotally, it's even said that using digital devices outdoors (where possible) is less harmful than using them indoors.

See for yourself

Myopia management is becoming increasingly popular for children and teenagers. As an independent opticians, Barracloughs have access to the latest contact lenses, spectacle lenses and products on the market.

Our optometrists and dispensing opticians have complete freedom to discuss the available options with you and your child, understand their individual needs and find the best solution for them.

Traditional spectacle lenses can correct myopia, however, they don't stop its progression or the extent of myopia. Using the latest lens design technology, there are now specialist spectacle lenses which could reduce the progression of myopia in children. Studies have shown that some spectacle lenses have proven to curb myopia progression in children on average by 60%. Ask a member of the team about our myopia control lenses or contact us.

¹ NHS.uk
² McCullough SJ, O’Donoghue L, Saunders KJ (2016) Six Year Refractive Change among White Children and Young Adults: Evidence for Significant Increase in Myopia among White UK Children. PLoS ONE 11(1)
³ Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA, Jong M, Naidoo KS, Sankaridurg P, Wong TY, Naduvilath TJ, Resnikoff S, Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050, Ophthalmology, May 2016,123(5), 1036–1042.
⁴ Mew-May Wu M, Edwards MH. The Effect of Having Myopic Parents: An Analysis of Myopia in Three Generations. Optometry and Vision Science. 1999 Jun 1;76(6):387–92

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