My child can't see the board in school

My child needs glasses for distance vision…

Why is this happening?

Near-sightedness, also called myopia, occurs when patients can see well up close, but have blurred distance vision. Near-sightedness is caused from the eye itself growing longer over time, stretching out the retina and neurological tissue, which results in progressive vision loss and prescription changes. The changes in eye shape can occur due to genetics, but also correlate with “near work.” With the advent of digital devices, our children now spend hours more per day on screens than most of us did at a similar age. We know conclusively that children who spend more time indoors are at risk for becoming myopic.

Why should I try to prevent near-sightedness?

Because of the stretching that occurs with the retinal tissue, it makes sense that these patients are at significantly higher risk of retinal detachments, glaucoma, and a host of other ocular diseases later in life, in addition to overall worsening vision.*

What can I do to help preserve my child’s vision?

Until recently, most children who are near-sighted were likely to have their vision progressively worsen over time. They would continue to have prescription changes in almost all cases. However, we now seek ways to slow down the changes to eye shape, which is called “Myopia Management.” Myopia Management has been a mainstay of our practice for a number of years, and Dr. Bhat is one of the leading Myopia Management providers in the Charlotte area.

To date, we have successfully utilized technology called orthokeratology, as well as atropine therapy with a number of our young patients. Orthokeratology is a fantastic method that involves wearing contact lenses overnight to mold and reshape the cornea. While this therapy is very effective, many children are not great candidates and there is a learning curve for both children and their parents. Atropine therapy requires off-label use (i.e. not FDA approved) and must be obtained from a specialty compounding pharmacy. Now, there is an additional option: MiSight.

MiSight is a 1-day disposable, soft contact lens that fits and feels like a usual contact lens. It not only corrects distance vision, like a typical contact lens or glasses, but has the added benefit of being clinically proven (and FDA approved) to slow the progression of myopia in children who begin treatment between 8-12 years of age.** We have already fit dozens of children in this lens and are pleased to report high patient satisfaction. We believe it will quickly become the lens of choice for our myopic, school-aged patients.

Is my child a candidate for MiSight?

If your child is 8 years or older and requires glasses, please give us a call to schedule their annual eye exam. If they are a current patient and not yet due, let us know you are interested in finding out more about myopia control and one our doctors can determine if they are a candidate without having to come in.

Reference: The Impact of Myopia and High Myopia. Report of the Joint World Health Organization-Brien Holden Vision Institute Global Scientific Meeting on Myopia. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. 16-18 March 2015. *Reference: Chamberlain P, et al. A 3-year randomized clinical trial of MiSight® lenses for myopia control. Optom Vis Sci. 2019; 96(8):556-567.