Stopping Myopia in Children
Is it possible to stop the progression of myopia in children?
Myopia has become a serious health problem in our society with an increasing speed in recent years.
Myopia is actually a genetic visual defect, but environmental factors (epigenetics) play a huge role in its progression.
The biggest reasons for this are factors such as looking at digital screens for a long time in children and little exposure to sunlight all day long.
As myopia progresses at childhood, aside from the increase in the dioptric number of glasses, the risk of a number of other eye diseases, such as glaucoma or retinal detachment, increases in high-numbered myopia. For this reason, it is very important to prevent the progression of myopia.
There are two options for this:
Orthokeratology contact lenses
Diluted atropine eye drops
Orthokeratology contact lenses are special hard contact lenses that the child wears at night when he goes to bed and takes them off when he wakes up in the morning. On this occasion, the shape of the cornea is flattened, and the patient begins to see clearly throughout the day without glasses.
This process is temporary and when the contact lens is not used for 1 week, the cornea returns to its former state. It has been shown that the application of these lenses for a long time in children can stop the progression of myopia.
As a second option, the patient drops diluted atropine eye drops once every day. Especially when applied in a controlled manner in children between the ages of 6 and 12, it has been proven in numerous scientific studies that it effectively reduces the rate of progression of myopia.
For further information please visit a specialist ophthalmologist in managing myopia in childhood.
