About Myopia

What is myopia?

Myopia is a common eye condition in which light is focused in front of the retina, resulting in blurred distance vision. People with myopia can often see quite clearly at close distance but distant objects will be blurred.

Myopia usually starts during childhood, typically progressing until the child stops growing. 

Myopia is a common eye health condition not just a vision condition.

The myopic eye

There are two reasons why myopia causes blurred distance vision:

1. The eyeball grows too long.
2. The cornea is too curved for the length of the eye.

Source: Myopia in Children 

Managing myopia in children is important because:

• Increasing myopia can lead to serious eye health problems in the future¹.
• As the child’s eyes grow and their myopia increases, the dependency on glasses increases.
• As a child’s dependency on glasses increases it can reduce their ability to participate actively in sports and other activities.

Research shows that myopia is occurring earlier in life. In 1983, the typical onset of myopia was at around 11 years of age. However, in 2000, the average onset of myopia was just 8 years of age².

The average onset age of myopia is getting younger.

Myopia is often a progressive condition. It will begin as mild but may progress in severity to moderate or high myopia. The earlier myopia starts, the greater chance a child has of developing high myopia.

The majority of myopia progression typically occurs between the ages of 6-17 years as this is a key growth time for children, and their eyes. 

Causes of myopia

There are two main risk factors for a child developing myopia: lifestyle and family history.

Lifestyle

Modern lifestyles may influence the development of myopia.  These include:

• Low levels of outdoor activity³ and associated factors, including:
• Low levels of light exposure⁴.
• Prolonged near tasks⁵ such as reading and gaming on portable devices.

Family History

The likelihood of developing myopia, particularly high myopia, increases when one or both parents are myopic⁶. However, the exact link between a family history of myopia and the development of childhood myopia remains uncertain⁷.

Low levels of outdoor activity.

Low levels of light exposure.

Performing prolonged near tasks, such as reading and gaming on portable devices.

Management vs treating myopia

It is not only eyesight that suffers. It is important to remember that the impact of myopia is very personal and can potentially affect an individual’s quality of life. Higher degrees of myopia can not only be visually disabling, but also have financial, social and personal consequences⁸.

If a child has been diagnosed with myopia, it is vital that parents not only discuss how to correct their short-sightedness with their Optometrist, but also what management options are available to slow the progression of myopia and which will best suit the child and their lifestyle.

Treating myopia in children doesn’t mean just getting glasses.

As research and technological innovations in this area continue, optometrists now have a range of new management options which mean they can not only provide clear vision but slow down the progression of myopia.

Slowing the progression of myopia is important to reduce the potential risk of developing high myopia and its associated conditions later in life⁹. This is of significant concern given that high myopia is also associated with comorbidities like retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataracts and myopic macular degeneration. The risk of developing any of these conditions increases along with any increase in myopia¹⁰.

Although lifetime risks of developing several serious eye conditions increase significantly with higher degrees of myopia, no level is safe.

There is good evidence supporting the importance of managing myopia. 

There are a range of treatment options for myopia; some correct vision and some correct vision and slow the progression of myopia. Speak to your Optometrist about options that slow the progression of myopia.