FDA Approved: 1st Contact Lens Designed to Slow Progression of Myopia (Nearsightedness)
The Center for Disease Control classifies myopia, or nearsightedness, as an epidemic, and it’s time we start treating it that way. Myopia is a disease. When a child’s prescription gets stronger every year, there are new technologies that treat the problem much better than just stronger glasses.
Why is myopia an epidemic? Consider this: 14% of Americans were nearsighted in 1910. Today, more that 40% of kids 5-19 years old are nearsighted, and it is increasing rapidly. There are various reasons for this, but primarily our eyes are responding to the way we use them. Humans historically used their eyes to see far away, with brief periods of time spent focusing up close. Today, every child is reading, studying, doing homework, and looking at screens. We spend so many hours per day focusing our near vision, so our eyes may respond to this visual stress by becoming nearsighted.
What’s the problem, though? It’s just new glasses/contacts with a stronger prescription every year. There are several issues at play. First, patients become reliant on corrective lenses and it’s not uncommon to see adult patients who are legally blind without their lenses. Even navigating the house is impossible until they put their glasses on. Also, becoming nearsighted actually changes the shape of the eye to become longer. This stretching significantly increases the risk of eye diseases later in life like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal detachment. These risks multiply as the prescription gets larger. Lastly, myopic people are forced to commit to a lifetime of expenses for glasses and contact lenses, or refractive surgery. Think of the lifetime savings if that first sign of a nearsighted prescription was stopped and maybe even reversed.
Myopia Management is a growing sub-specialty in optometry as the profession tackles the growing epidemic. There are strategies with glasses and contact lenses that keep distant targets clear, but relax the eyes from over-focusing up close. Behavioral modifications are stressed to continue excelling in our academic near vision demands, while giving the eyes a break to discourage over-stress and myopic progression. Recently, the FDA approved the MiSight 1 Day contact lens, the first product clinically proven to slow the progression of myopia when prescribed for children 8-12 years old. These lenses add to the options that eye care providers have in myopia management, including bifocal glasses, multifocal contact lenses, orthokeratology, and atropine therapy. A skilled clinician is able to weigh the options with parents and select the best treatment to manage and limit myopic progression.
Our practice, EagleEye Performance Vision, provides myopia management. I was fortunate to receive this type of treatment in my youth to limit my myopia, and I enjoy helping to maintain eyesight in children all around west Michigan. You can also find MiSight 1 Day contact lens providers nationwide at coopervision.com. Finally, a treatment other than just stronger glasses!