Myopia Management | Eyes on Bridgwater

Preserving Clear Vision for the Future

Myopia is a common vision condition that can affect children from a young age, where close objects appear clear while distant objects become blurry. Your kids deserve clear vision and healthy eyes and we want to help provide that through a myopia management program.

While nearsightedness can be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses, unmanaged myopia can progress over time, potentially leading to other vision complications later in life. At Eyes on Bridgwater, we’re committed to providing proactive measures to help address and effectively slow down myopia progression.

Don’t wait to help your child manage myopia’s effects. Through myopia control methods like MiSight, spectacle lenses, & ortho-k lenses, we can help. Contact us to schedule an appointment today.

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What Is
Myopia Control?

Myopia can make it challenging to focus on a whiteboard in school or engage in sports. Myopia control can be essential in preventing the progression of myopia and helping improve children’s visual abilities and lifestyle.

If not controlled early, myopia can also lead to more severe vision problems over time. Myopia control may help reduce your child’s lifetime risk of developing those conditions.

Myopia on the Rise:
How Kids’ Lives Have Changed

Myopia is becoming increasingly common in children, and our modern lifestyles may be a potential culprit. Less outdoor time and more near-vision activities like screen use may be impacting healthy eye development.

There are several factors that contribute to the development of myopia, such as genetics, but some research does suggest that spending more time outdoors and less time on near-vision activities, like studying, reading, and using a digital screen, may help prevent myopia development for some kids.

Regular Eye Exams

Regular eye exams can be crucial for the early detection and management of myopia. During a comprehensive exam, we can discuss your child’s myopia management options and help you safeguard your child’s vision.

Screen Time & Distance

Excessive screen time and holding devices too close can increase the risk of nearsightedness. When focusing on close screens, the eye muscles strain to accommodate, leading to changes that blur vision.

To help protect your child’s vision, you should:

Limit screen time
Encourage regular breaks (about every 20–30 minutes)
Keep devices at least an arm’s length from your child’s face
Promote regular outdoor activities
Schedule eye checkups to support healthy eye development

Outdoor Time & Sunshine

Spending time outdoors, especially in natural sunlight, can help lower the risk of myopia’s early onset and progression in children. Natural light releases dopamine, which helps control eye growth and prevents excessive eyeball elongation.

Outdoor activities often involve looking at distant objects, which helps exercise the eye’s focusing muscles and slow myopia progression. Encourage outdoor play by planning family outings, creating a play area in the backyard, or supporting outdoor hobbies. Remember, children must wear UV-blocking sun protection to enjoy the sunlight safely.

Understanding High Myopia

High myopia (severe nearsightedness) is associated with an increased risk of developing eye conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal detachment later in life. Early intervention and myopia management can help reduce this risk.

Imagine a future where you can enjoy vibrant sunsets, breathtaking landscapes, and the intricate details of a loved one’s face without worrying about blurry vision. Proactive myopia management can help turn that vision into a reality.

Monitoring Myopia with Axial Length

As the eyeball lengthens, the distance between the cornea and retina increases. This is measured during your eye exam and is a crucial factor in tracking myopia progression.

By monitoring axial length, we can assess the effectiveness of myopia management methods and help your child’s vision remain stable. Early detection is key, though. The earlier we can identify myopia and begin management strategies, the better chance we can have of helping slow progression and reducing the risk of future complications.

Our Approach to Managing Myopia

Myopia can be stressful for children, and there are some common signs and symptoms you can look out for, including:

Frequent headaches
Blurry vision when looking at faraway objects
Squinting to see distant objects
Eye strain
Sitting too close to screens

At Eyes on Bridgwater, we offer various treatment options to help slow myopia progression and support your child’s healthy long-term eye development.

Myopia Control Spectacle Lenses

Myopia management spectacle lenses can provide clear vision and help kids manage myopia progression. These lenses are often clear in the centre and have areas of soft focus in the periphery that can be effective in stopping the eye from getting longer and slowing myopia progression.

We carry ZEISS MyoCare, Essilor Stellest, and HOYA MiYOSMART lenses, all reputable brands with unique benefits.

Abiliti Soft Contact Lenses & MiSight

Abiliti 1-day Lenses and MiSight 1-day lenses are daily disposable soft contact lenses that can help manage myopia in children.

Both lenses use specialized correction zones within the lenses. One zone helps sharpen blurry distance vision, while the other can slow myopia progression, offering seamless vision correction.The soft, kid-friendly lenses are designed for comfortable daily wear and easy handling for children ages 8+. If your children aren’t fans of wearing glasses, then MiSight or Abiliti may be their solution.

Ortho-k Lenses

Orthokeratology (ortho-k) lenses are customized rigid gas-permeable lenses. These specialized contacts are worn during sleep at night and taken out in the morning to give clear, comfortable vision during the day without glasses or contacts.

Ortho-k lenses can be a good fit for helping children manage myopia, as well as adults who want freedom from eyewear but may not be able to have refractive surgery.

Atropine Drops

Low-dose atropine is a promising treatment method for children with myopia. Studies have shown that a low dose of atropine in eye drop form can slow myopia progression in children to help reduce the risk of severe nearsightedness.

Low-dose atropine drops help by suppressing the eye’s growth. This treatment is typically prescribed as a daily drop, administered in the evening before bedtime.

Taking Charge of Your Child’s Visual Health

During a comprehensive eye exam, we can discuss your child’s individual needs and recommend a suitable myopia management strategy. Don’t wait for nearsightedness to get worse. Contact Eyes on Bridgwater today to schedule a consultation and discuss your child’s myopia management options.

Request Appointment