Myopia is an eye condition in which one can clearly see the things that are nearby or some distance away, but things that far away seem to be a blur. This condition is also termed as shortsightedness or nearsightedness. Caused due to elongation of eyeballs, this condition can be found in billions of people around the world. Children are highly affected by shortsightedness, hindering their studies. The term myopia control describes the methods that can help slow down the progression of the condition of myopia. A lot of researches have ensured that it is possible to slow down the progress of myopia during childhood or teenage years thereby controlling the eye condition effectively.
More On Controlling Myopia
There are many reasons behind the growing cases of nearsightedness among the people. Children today are becoming more and more susceptible to the condition of myopia due to the environment of the present times. Lifestyle, use of gadgets and kind of family life they have are the prime reason behind this increased rate of shortsightedness. The different methods of controlling myopia are prescribed by the ophthalmologists or eye doctors. The myopia control is vital as it helps in minimizing the risks of complications related to vision. High myopia in the later stage of life can be risky for the eyes. Glaucoma, cataract, retinal detachment and blindness are some vision threatening problems, you could face if care is not taken on time.
Treatments to Control Myopia
There has been research going on in the field of myopia control. This has led to four types of treatment solutions that have shown success at varying level. The types of treatments are:
- Orthokeratology: Orthokeratology is also known as Ortho-K or cornea reshaping lenses. It is a CRT myopia control method where devices that are similar to lenses are applied to eyes during the sleep. These are specially designed gas permeable contact lenses that are worn during the night while sleeping. The lenses are removed in the morning as temporary correction is enough and not needed to be used in the daytime. There have been evidences that have shown that kids with shortsightedness when use orthokeratology for years can have less myopia as compared to those who use regular eyeglasses or contact lenses. The studies have claimed that Ortho-k lenses have not only corrected myopia temporarily but also have successfully minimized myopia progression to about 45%.
- Atropine eye drops: Atropine eye drops have been in use in myopia control for many years now. The drops are basically used to minimize pain and inflammation of eyes. The main function of atropine eye drops is to dilate the pupils and temporarily paralyzing accommodation. This helps to relieve focusing fatigue and thereby relaxing the eyes. The atropine eye drops are not particularly used for eye testing but used to relive pain associated with uveitis. Research has shown that kids suffer from nearsightedness due to focusing fatigue. So disabling the eye focusing mechanism and using atropine can help to control myopia.
- Multifocal lenses: Multifocal contact lenses are designed to slow down the progression of myopia similar to ortho-k. These provide clear vision to people at any distance to correct all kinds of refractive errors and age-related focusing problem called presbyopia. The multifocal lenses have different zones with different powers that can correct shortsightedness, farsightedness, and presbyopia.
- Multifocal eyeglasses: Multifocal eyeglasses have also been a part of treatment for myopia control. The results of tests have proved that adult bifocal and multifocal eyeglasses can help stop the progressions of myopia in some special types of eyes with ‘Esophoria’. It might not be as effective as multifocal contact lenses, but still used widely for controlling myopia.
These methods available to control myopia are very effective. Earlier you detect the nearsightedness, the faster you can try control it. You should never neglect the complaints of the children about their vision problem. Routine eye examinations for all the family members must be done to ensure that the eyesight is fine.
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