What is Childhood Myopia?
Childhood Myopia
If your child can see near objects clearly but sees distant objects blurred, then they are likely to be myopic or short-sighted. Myopia occurs when the light rays entering the eye focus in front of the retina rather than on it. Myopia mostly occurs due to elongation of the eye ball, this is called axial elongation.
What Causes Myopia?
The actual cause of myopia is not yet fully understood. We do know that genetic as well as environmental factors play a part in the development of myopia. For example, the risk of a person developing myopia is higher if one or both parents have myopia while excessive near work such as reading and using mobile devices also contribute to the development of myopia.
Myopia usually develops in children of school-going age and continues to worsen until they reach their early 20s, after which the condition usually stabilises.
World-wide the prevalence of myopia is increasing with some Asian countries having and incidence as high as 20% of children being myopic by the time they start their primary school at age 7 and increasing to more than 80% upon completion of their tertiary education.
Myopia Control
Myopia is not just about wearing glasses. As myopia increases, the risk of developing other sight-threatening eye conditions increases too. Therefore, by reducing the level of myopia, we hope to reduce the risks of your child developing sight threatening conditions later on in life. In myopia, the eyeball is elongated longer than usual and this stretches the retina. As the retina thins, it may tear, and in more serious cases, detachment of the retina may occur.
Myopia can lead to:
- Retinal Detachment
- Glaucoma
- Cataracts
- Macular Degeneration
Ways to effectively control myopia
Orthokeratology Contact Lenses
Additionally, it has been found that spending 1 hour a day in the sun can help reduce the progression of the near-sightedness.
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