Myopia Control
Myopia - Short sightedness
When looking at distant objects, the light entering the eye focusses before reaching the retina, and thus becomes out of focus when it does reach the retina. Hence things far away look blurred.
MiSight Contact Lenses
These were the first commercially available myopia control contact lenses available in the uk, and have been available through Andrew & Rogers since 2018. Our results with them are inline with their research and we feel confident using them to treat myopia.
Spectacle Lenses
A number of companies now have specific designs of spectacle lenses to control myopia. Zeiss and Hoya are two of the biggest brands available and are both supplied by Andrew & Rogers Optometrists.
What is Myopia Control?
Myopia Control is the process of using specific techniques to reduce the rate of increase in the level of short sightedness. It is a fairly modern science that was discovered when certain types of contact lens were shown to be very effective at recuing myopic progressions in significant numbers of people. Andrew Scott BSc(Hons) D.Opt, a director of Andrew & Rogers Optometrists, has taken a special interest in this field when he discovered swapping a lot of patients onto certain contact lenses significantly reduced myopic progression or even reduced myopia itself in hundreds of clients. A large amount of research has since proved its effectiveness, and led to the development of advanced optical lens designs to achieve the goal of reducing myopia.
Who Should Use Myopia Control?
Anyone who wants to reduce their short sightedness, or the rate at which it develops. It develops most quickly in the teenage growing years, but also quite often in the early adult years too. The more research that is published over time will gradually shed more light on specific groups of people who will benefit from it. Young short sighted people, or the children of short sighted parents are the key groups that we are ‘focusing’ on.
Will It Work On Everyone?
No. We think there are a small number of people who have certain shapes of retina that are ‘atypical’ and will not respond to myopia control lens designs very well. Some myopia increases are also stimulated by other factors like natural growth, or pathological causes. We can discuss the complexities of myopia control after an eye examination.
Why should I bother?
This is a good question. After all, it’s just the thickness of lens, right? Wrong! Increasing short sightedness leads to significant increases in eye diseases like retinal detachment, glaucoma and macular degeneration when it reaches certain levels. Also, surgical options for correcting myopia are much more successful if there isn’t too much, particularly over 6 dioptres. And if you ask a short sighted adult if they would like to be less short sighted they almost always say YES!
Is it Expensive?
No. Myopia control lenses are marginally more expensive than their equivalent, but if you reduce the rate you become short sighted, you also reduce the number of pairs of glasses you need to buy as time goes by, so it could even be cheaper in the long run.
Should I book an appointment with Andrew & Rogers to discuss my, or my child’s options?
Yes. We will conduct a detailed eye examination to ascertain the very best course of action to guard against increases in short sightedness. For these hi-tech lenses to be most effective they have to be prescribed with incredible accuracy.
How Does Myopia Control Actually Work?
Recent research has shown there are areas of the peripheral retina that actually measure blur. As we now know where these cells are likely to be, we have designed lenses that move the focus of the image in these areas, and fool these cells into convincing the eye that it doesn’t need to change in a myopic direction. Image blur, even if its caused by myopia itself, can stimulate the eye to physically change itself to clear the image. The young eye is supposed to be long sighted, and this process exists to correct this as the eye grows, aiming for perfect vision as we finish growing. Modern human eyes are becoming larger, meaning that all too often the process goes too far and causes short sightedness. This then causes more visual blur which stimulates even higher rates of myopic progression.