Myopia Management

•  40 percent of Americans are myopic and that number is increasing at an alarming rate, especially among school-aged children. 
• Two-thirds of eye care professionals say the presence of myopia among children in their practice has increased over the past 5-10 years
• 81% of eye care professionals recognize it as one of the biggest problems impacting children’s eyesight today.  

What is Myopia 

• Myopia  is often referred to as nearsightedness.
• It is a common eye health condition in which the eyeball elongates, causing light rays to focus incorrectly in the eye, thus making distance vision blurry. 
•  Myopia is typically diagnosed during childhood when the eyeball develops a larger or longer shape. This means the distance between the front of the eye and the retina at the back of the eye is longer than usual
• The increase diagnosis of myopia can be attributed to different factors, sometimes a combination of these factors: 
• Genetics – Family history plays a role in a child’s risk of myopia. If neither parent is myopic, the chance the child will develop myopia is low. But, if one parent is myopic, it increases the child’s chance of developing myopia by 3x – doubling to 6x if both parents are myopic 
• Environment – Exposure to sunlight, vitamin D intake, dopamine levels and the amount of time someone spends outdoors have an impact on an individual’s likelihood of being myopic. Research shows spending more time outdoors lowers the risk of childhood myopia,

• Myopia can cause Long-term Ocular health impact. As the eye continues to grow and the amount of myopia increases and ocular tissues change in response to the eye growth. This results in eye health risks that are not as evident in a non-myopic eye. 
• The more nearsighted a child is, the greater these risks become and these risks increase exponentially as myopia progresses. If not treated myopia may contribute to more severe eye health complications later in life including:
• Cataracts is a clouding of the lens of the eye that can cause changes in vision. Though cataracts can affect everyone as they age, they often develop sooner in those who are myopic.
• Glaucoma is a condition, usually linked to high pressure inside the eye, that causes damage to the eye’s optic nerve, potentially causing irreversible vision loss and blindness. Studies show myopic people have a 2-3x greater risk of developing glaucoma.
• Retinal detachment occurs when the retina, a thin layer of tissue that surrounds the entire inside the eye, pulls away from supportive layers of blood vessels that provide its necessary oxygen and nourishment .
• Macular Degeneration is caused by the deterioration of the central portion of the retina, and is a leading cause of severe, irreversible vision loss.