What Is Myopia?
Myopia (nearsightedness) makes seeing objects at a distance difficult. Instead, they appear blurry, causing your child to squint. Another common symptom of myopia is complaints of tired or sore eyes.
Children with myopia may not know that their vision has changed or they may be unsure about how to voice it. Perhaps you’ve noticed that your child isn’t as confident at school as they used to be or maybe they’re squinting more often. Through comprehensive eye exams, we can assess changes to your child’s sight and provide recommendations for preserving their eye health that go beyond basic frames and lenses.
Myopia continues to get worse over time, but its progression can be slowed. Early detection is critical for effective myopia management. Schedule an appointment today to learn more about your child’s options for controlling myopia.
Book AppointmentComplications of Myopia
Myopia occurs when your child’s eyes grow to be too long, or their corneas grow to be too curved. When these changes continue over time, they can increase your child’s risk of developing other serious eye conditions as a result of high myopia.
High myopia can increase a person’s risk of developing cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal detachment. Myopia control can help prevent your child’s risk from increasing.
How Is Myopia Managed?
Myopia can affect anyone. It generally first occurs between age 6 and 14, and can progress until age 20. Children with parents who have myopia may also have an increased risk of developing it themselves.
We can help slow down your child’s myopia. During your child’s routine eye exam, we’ll go through our myopia management program with you. It’s an ongoing program where we regularly monitor your child’s myopia progression and eye health.
If we determine that your child needs contacts, we’ll schedule a separate appointment for the fitting.
Our Diagnostic Technology
Something we pride ourselves on at Central Eyes Optometry is our desire to continue evolving with innovations in eye care. As part of our commitment to staying modern, we use a variety of technologies to diagnose and monitor myopia.
Both axial length measurement and corneal topography can help us diagnose your child’s myopia. These techniques not only help us catch changes to your child’s eye health early, but they also help us suggest methods of myopia management best suited to your child’s needs.
Axial Length Measurement
Axial length is the length of your child’s eye from front to back. Eye elongation is a common characteristic of myopia, and continued elongation is a sign of myopia progression.
Axial length measurement can be more sensitive to changes in your child’s vision than checking the power of their glasses or contacts alone, so this technique helps us to better monitor your child’s sight and eyes, which helps us recommend the right options for myopia management.
Corneal Topography
Myopia occurs not only when the length of the eye grows too long but also when the shape of the cornea becomes irregular. With corneal topography, we can monitor changes to your child’s cornea that may be affecting their sight.
If your child also has astigmatism or keratoconus, corneal topography can help us get a thorough understanding of your child’s eyes. It’s also particularly useful for determining which contact lenses can suit their needs, helping us provide an accurate, safe fit.
Our Myopia Management
Methods
Our team is passionate about myopia management. If your child has started struggling at school or while playing sports, we want to help them get back to learning and enjoying life.
We’ll suggest a myopia management method based on your child’s needs. We offer atropine eye drops, MiSight contact lenses, multifocal contact lenses, and ortho-k contact lenses to help manage your child’s myopia.
Low-Dose Atropine Eye Drops
Atropine eye drops can help slow the elongation of your child’s eye. Atropine is commonly used to dilate pupils during eye exams, but at a low dose, it’s been shown to help block the stimulation that leads to excessive eye growth.
MiSight 1 Day Contacts
MiSight 1 Day contacts are soft contacts designed to slow myopia. These contact lenses can correct your child’s sight while simultaneously helping prevent myopia progression. Studies have found children using MiSight lenses have better than 20/20 vision during their visits over a 6-year period.
Multifocal Contact Lenses
Multifocal contact lenses combine multiple vision prescriptions in a single lens. They can be helpful for triggering a specific response in the eye that slows myopia progression by providing clear central vision while blurring vision at the edges of the lenses.
Ortho-K Lenses
Orthokeratology (ortho-k) lenses are designed to be worn at night. They can slow your child’s myopia by correcting their vision while they sleep. Because their vision is corrected at night, your child can also enjoy clear sight throughout the day without needing to wear other glasses or contacts.
Book an Appointment
Your child’s eye health is important. We want to help protect their lifetime vision by slowing their myopia progression. Schedule an appointment with us today to learn more.
Book AppointmentOur Location
Our Address
- 1891 NE 7th Street
- Grants Pass, OR 97526
Contact Information
- Phone: 541-237-0030
- Email: [email protected]
Our Hours
Hours
- Monday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Thursday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Friday: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: Closed
Our Brands
Our Google Reviews
Our Blogs
How Often Should I See an Eye Doctor?
Vision TipsEye exams are a crucial part of maintaining our overall health. Regular eye exams are essential, even if you don’t think you need a new glasses or contact lens prescription. Our eyes are complex organs, and a lot can go wrong without noticeable symptoms. Regular check-ups are the best way to detect both minor issues […]
Preventing Sports Eye Injuries
Vision TipsMost eye injuries are entirely preventable. This includes those sustained during athletic activities. While eye protection is commonly associated with professions like welding, construction, or laboratory work, it’s equally crucial for athletes. In the United States alone, proper eye protection could prevent approximately 27,000 of the 30,000 eye injuries reported annually in sports — that’s […]
The Fascinating World of Animal Eyesight
Vision TipsWhen it comes to vision, nature is both diverse and innovative. Animals have evolved an array of visual abilities that often far surpass human capabilities, tailored to their unique environments and survival needs. This blog post explores some of the most intriguing differences between human eyesight and that of various animals, shedding light on nature’s […]
How Often Should I See an Eye Doctor?
Eye exams are a crucial part of maintaining our overall health. Regular eye exams are essential, even if you don’t think you need a new glasses or contact lens prescription. Our eyes are complex organs, and a lot can go wrong without noticeable symptoms. Regular check-ups are the best way to detect both minor issues […]
Preventing Sports Eye Injuries
Most eye injuries are entirely preventable. This includes those sustained during athletic activities. While eye protection is commonly associated with professions like welding, construction, or laboratory work, it’s equally crucial for athletes. In the United States alone, proper eye protection could prevent approximately 27,000 of the 30,000 eye injuries reported annually in sports — that’s […]
The Fascinating World of Animal Eyesight
When it comes to vision, nature is both diverse and innovative. Animals have evolved an array of visual abilities that often far surpass human capabilities, tailored to their unique environments and survival needs. This blog post explores some of the most intriguing differences between human eyesight and that of various animals, shedding light on nature’s […]
-
Central Eyes Optometry
- 1891 NE 7th Street
- Grants Pass, OR 97526
-
P: 541-237-0030
[email protected]