Myopia Control And Treatment
Myopia, also known as short-sightedness or near-sightedness is a common vision condition in which near vision is clear, but objects further away are blurry. It occurs when the shape and length of your eye ball causes images to be focussed in front of your retina instead of directly on your retina causing blurred vision. Myopia may develop gradually or rapidly, often worsening during childhood and adolescence and tends to run in families.
A basic eye exam can confirm myopia. You can correct this blurred vision with spectacles, contact lenses or refractive surgery. There is also an eye drop (atropine) that can be used in children to slow down the rate of progression of myopia.
High myopia is a more serious form short /near-sightedness that can be associated with significant eye health complications. High myopia generally is used to describe myopia of -5.00 to -6.00 D or higher, which produces uncorrected vision of 6/120 (20/400) or worse.
In almost all cases, heredity plays a role in the development of high myopia.
High myopia itself does not generally lead to vision loss. However, people with the condition have a greater risk of developing several other vision-threatening conditions, including
- Early Cataracts
- Retinal detachment
- Glaucoma
- Myopic Macula degeneration
Myopia Treatment With Atropine Drops:
Atropine has been shown to reduce the progression of myopia and eyeball elongation in children.
Although initial studies used 1% atropine, it’s been recently shown that lower concentrations of only 0.01% are safe and effective in slowing down myopia progression without the side effects of poor near vision, photophobia and glare, and the need for transitional or progressive glasses. Additionally patients on lower dose atropine showed less myopic rebound after stopping the drops compared with higher concentrations.