Myopia: a guide for parents
Short-sightedness in children does not just mean thicker glasses. The longer the eye grows, the higher the risk of eye disease later. The good news is that growth can be slowed.
What is happening in the eye
In myopia the eyeball grows too long, so distant objects look blurred. Most children start between 6 and 12 and the eye keeps lengthening through the teens. Glasses sharpen the picture but do not stop the growth.
Why slowing it matters
A longer eye is more likely to develop retinal problems, glaucoma, cataract and myopic macular degeneration as an adult. Studies of European adults found that about 1 in 25 people with an axial length of 24 to 26 mm, and about 1 in 4 with 26 mm or more, develop uncorrectable visual impairment by age 75. Each fraction of a dioptre and each tenth of a millimetre you prevent in childhood counts.
What helps
- Time outdoors. Two hours a day in daylight lowers the chance that myopia starts, and helps a little once it has.
- Specialist spectacle lenses (MiyoSmart, Stellest). Worn full time, they cut yearly progression by around half in trials.
- Special contact lenses. MiSight daily lenses are worn by day. Ortho-k lenses are worn overnight and reshape the front of the eye so your child needs no glasses by day.
- Low-dose atropine drops once a night. 0.05% worked best in the largest trial with the fewest side effects.
- Repeated low-level red light for a few minutes a day, available only under close supervision; the retina must be monitored.
Treatments can be combined, and the right choice depends on age, how fast the eyes are growing, comfort and family routine.
What to ask your eye doctor
- Will you measure axial length at every visit, not only glasses power?
- How fast is my child's eye growing compared with the average for their age?
- Which option suits my child, and how will we know it is working?