‘My 8 year-old girl’s short-sightedness is progressing yearly, is it safe for her to wear contact lenses to control the progression?’
If your child’s myopia is progressing at almost -1.00D per year, it is time for a myopia control intervention. Myopia is a disease, and people need to know that. The reason why people are not aware is because the symptoms can be easily treated using spectacles. Many people think of myopia as a norm, and cannot be prevented.
Risks of Eye Diseases MULTIPLIES with Myopia Levels
It is important to know the forthcoming situations that could occur if progressing myopia is not intervened at an early age. Even when appropriate glasses is provided, myopia continues to place your child at an increased risk of sight-threatening diseases, due to the elongation of the eyeball with increasing myopic power. Complications of Myopia includes:
-Glaucoma
-Cataracts
-Retinal tears which may lead to a retinal detachment
-Myopic maculopathy or myopic macular degeneration
The incidence of these conditions is greatest in individuals with high myopia.
In eyesight.sg, we are dedicated to flatten the curve of the Myopia Epidemic and thus, it is time to demolish the doubts and uncertainties that are holding you back from supporting your child’s myopia control journey.
Here is a compilation of some of the common concerns amongst our parents.
Question: How would wearing contact lenses help my child’s myopia progression?
Mounting evidence from clinical studies published in the last 10 years demonstrates the efficacy of orthokeratology (Ortho K) in slowing myopic progression in children. Ortho K has also been shown to be a safe and efficacious means of correcting and controlling progressing myopia. In comparison with normal spectacle lenses worn by 80% of the children, studies on myopia progression in children using OrthoK shows a reduction in myopia progression of 40%-60% when compared with children corrected with normal glasses. Recently, a study at University of Michigan of 97 long term Ortho K wearing patients showed that 67% showed little or no change in axial length over a 3-year period.
Read up more on: Myopia Control – Science or Luck?
Question: My girl is only 7+ years old – at what age is considered safe and what are the possible complications that might arise?
One of the key barriers to paediatric contact lens wear is concerns over safety and hygiene. Ortho K, by comparison, has demonstrated a same risk percentage in children wearing daily soft contact lenses. The risk of contact lens infection for Ortho K is 1 in 1000 patient wearing years, i.e. your child will be having a one incident of an eye infection after 1000 years of wearing. Importantly, evidence indicated a lower rate of infection in children than teens and adults, which is attributed to better compliance and closer parental supervision.
Most parents are often worried if their kids can handle the OK lenses. Question to ask is, if the hundreds of children we treat can handle them safely, why should you think that your child cannot handle when their motivation is in fact the key factor to the success of fitting?
Read up more on: The Safety of Orthokeratology – A Systematic Review
Why is that so?
Children and teens demonstrate higher levels of compliance with lens disinfection and hand washing than their adult counterparts. This is likely due to the close supervision of parents, as compared to adults and their busy lifestyles. When they are motivated to control their myopia or to go spectacles-free, they will commit to use these lenses every night with the best care and caution.
For more information on this, you may read up on:
The Safety of Soft Contact Lenses in Children
Contact lens as a Weapon for your Child’s Myopia Control (A means to an end of the Myopia Epidemic)
When selecting a treatment option for your child, you can leave it to our experts as different treatment options have its pros and cons. Book a consultation with us (select for Orthokeratology at eyesightsg.setmore.com) You can be assured that if you are deciding between Ortho K and soft contact lens, the safety profile is actually similar. MiSight by Cooper Vision has recently been FDA approved for myopia control use.
The following is a summary of the different methods of treatment.
End Note
Myopia is a disease and halting of this common, yet commonly-notknown condition is so important for the future of your children, our future leaders. Eyesight is a sense which many people fear losing the most, and yet many are not taking action to eradicate preventable blindness.
Myopia is genetically hereditary and environmentally-causal. It cannot be improved nor reversed through other methods except for the ones summarised above, which are all scientifically-backed and proven. We have to go back to the root cause of the disease and counter through a tripartite relationship with the child, parents as well as the optometrists at eyesight.sg, to determine the best myopia control method for your child.
Contact lenses are safe for your child, they are a great confidence booster for the child growing up and they give ultimate vision satisfaction too! Visit us at eyesightsg.setmore.com
About Author
Ken Tong is the Consultant Optometrist for eyesight.sg and the President of the Singapore Optometric Association. He has been in practice for more than 15 years. His keen interest is in myopia management and primary eye care where his clinic performs test to optimise vision and eradicate preventable blindness. Singapore has the highest Myopia rates in the world and he set sights to halt this global epidemic.
