Myopia in children
What is Myopia?
Myopia is a vision defect that causes blurred distance vision and sharp near vision.
This anomaly is usually due to an eye that is too long.
Myopia occurs in childhood, usually progressing until the age of 25, when it stabilizes.
The cause is , on the one hand, a genetic factor: if one or both parents are myopic, the risk of it developing is greater.
On the other hand, an environmental factor, the lack of time exposed to natural light combined with too much time spent in front of screens, promotes the appearance and progression of myopia, especially in young children.
As a preventative measure , it is recommended to spend 2 hours outdoors every day.
In fact, exposure to daylight allows the production of dopamine, a hormone that blocks the elongation of the eye.
Monitor the activity distance closely. It is advisable to position yourself at least 50cm from the screen or tablet.
Take breaks every 20 minutes looking into the distance to relax your eyes.
Finally, it is essential to have your child's eyesight checked regularly by an ophthalmologist; screening is essential and allows myopia to be effectively controlled.
There are many treatments available today that can effectively slow down myopia in children.
What are the treatments to slow down myopia?
-Orthokeratology corrects myopia by wearing a lens at night which flattens the cornea, so the eye elongates less and allows you to see well from a distance and up close without glasses during the day.
However, the child must be at least 8 years old and have myopia less than 6 diopters.
This lens must be prescribed by an ophthalmologist.
-Atropine eye drops are effective in preventing the eye from lengthening but are still not very widely used in France and, like any medication, are not harmless.
Slowing down myopia with glasses is possible!
-Finally, the safest and least invasive method is wearing specific corrective lenses equipped with the new DIMS (Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments) technology.
The Japanese glassmaker Hoya is the only one to offer a glass using this technology with its Miyosmart glass.
This glass is composed of a multitude of points with convex power, which allows the eye to defocus, in other words not to tire, thus considerably slowing down the elongation of the eye.
Miyosmart lenses are available at Larry Opticians, along with support for your child to ensure a good result.
It is advisable to return to see your optician after 15 days, as well as 3 months and 9 months later so that he can check that your child is adapting well to his new lenses and that his frame remains well adjusted to his face.
With good treatment, the progression of myopia is slowed by an average of 60%.
Visit one of our 2 Parisian boutiques for more information.