Myopia is a disorder of the focus of the eye whereby the light is focused from near objects but not far objects. There are two types of myopia, refractive, where the eyes lenses are faulty and the more common axial myopia, where the eyeball has grown too long and, therefore the light id focussed before the retina.

That's good question, we are at the very beginning of our research into this huge question. We are learning though and our best guess at the moment is that the cause is multifactorial. This includes environmental factors such as less time spent outdoors in the open, chemical/metabolic such as vitamin D deficiency, behavioural such as excessive reading or computer use and genetics. Our best theory currently, however, is the peripheral defocus theory please (see above).

The research around this subject is constantly changing and evolving, for the most up-to-date information check out the links at the bottom of this page. Current thinking, however, is that a child with one parent is 4x more likely to become myopic and a child with two myopic parents is 9x more likely. A child that spends more time indoors, especially reading/gaming is at a greater risk. Also age of initial development of myopia poses a risk for developing higher prescriptions. The younger that they develop myopia the greater the risk.

Assessing your child's risk of developing myopia is quite easy, obviously you'll have a good idea of the family history. If the parents have not had an eye examination then they should as even a small amount of myopia increases the child's risk. You can also take note of much time the child spends outdoors? 

For a more formal risk assessment, however, you can use the links below to make a more detailed assessment of your child's myopia risk.

Thompson & Hardwick can assess the sight of anybody regardless of age. A very small child can be assessed even without any alphabet knowledge. 

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It may be necessary to instil some cycloplegic eyedrops to properly asses your child's vision. These drops dilate the pupil and temporarily paralyses the focussing muscles that can affect a child's prescription. This is the most accurate assessment possible. Unfortunately the drops can sting so you will need to be prepared for that.

We are naturally born long-sighted and with time, as the eye develops we go through a process called emmatropisation whereby the eye slowly becomes more myopic until it stops with a zero prescription. Obviously this can continue, It is generally thought that if a child is not hyperopic (has a + prescription) at the age of 6/7 then they are at a greater risk of developing myopia. At this point we would like to make sure that the child spends lots of time outdoors and obviously has regular eye examinations, hopefully this will be enough to stifle any development. As soon as they become myopic, however, we would discuss the interventions detailed above.

Not everybody is comfortable with the concept of putting a lens onto the eye. That's ok, Thompson & Hardwick Optometrists would obviously like to reassure all that we would be with you all the way and ensure that you have everything you need to safely wear them. However, if it is still not for you or your child thankfully we now have an excellenct alternative in the Miyosmart glasses lenses. Contact lens wear can be revisited and started at any point. The Miyosmart lenses will do just as good a job at myopia prevention in the mean time or for as long as the child wishes to wear them. 

Many do think that sleeping in lenses creates greater risk of infection, however, it must be remembered that OrthoK lenses are NOT worn during the day. Effectively the child will be wearing contact lenses for less time than they would a conventional daily lens. Therefore,  the less amount of time a lens is worn then the less risk of adverse reactions or infections.

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The risk is still there, however. It is very important to make sure that all hygiene and good practice is followed. Thompson & Hardwick Optometrists will ensure that you have everything you need to wear the lenses safely. Click here for contact lens handling advice.

That's a very good question. We don't know, nobody really knows. It might well be that your child does not develop myopia or if they do they might develop it at a very slow rate. All we can do is look at the risk factors and assume the more risks that are present the more likely your child will develop myopia and they could develop high myopia. It is simply your choice to intervene or not. All that we can do is present the evidence and remind you that for every dioptre of myopia that we reduce the risk of developing sight threatening conditions in the future is also reduced.

Another very good question and another one that we really don't know the answer to. 

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Despite all that we currently know myopia research is still very much in it's infancy. There simply has not been enough good quality research, or time, to fully answer this question. current thinking is that best practice would be to continue until the child stops growing in their mid twenties, however,  this is just an educated guess. 

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For more information on the latest research, check out the links below.