MISIGHT DAILY LENSES
MYOPIA ("NEARSIGHTEDNESS") BECOMES A PROBLEM
Indeed, myopia seems to be increasing, especially in Asia. In Europe, 30% are now near-sighted (= more than -0.75). Short-sightedness of more than -8 means that the retina becomes thinner, with a greater risk of disorders: retinal tears / degeneration of the centre of the retina. So it seems important to keep myopia below -8.
HOW TO INHIBIT MYOPIA IN CHILDREN ?
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Usually an eye normalises to 0. It is known that every child is born with a short eye (= farsighted). By tightening the lens, you can correct this and a child normally does not need glasses, unless the farsightedness is too pronounced (more than +2). Due to the growth of the eye, the shortage will grow and your eye will be +- 23 mm long at the age of 18 (= full-grown eye) = 0 dioptre (= emmetropia). 0.1 mm too much or too little already results in -0.25 or +0.25. So: A small deviation has a large effect. A deviation of 1 mm has immediately -3 (too long) or +3 (too short).
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How can that normalisation process ("emmetropisation") be disrupted?
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Heredity: if both parents are nearsighted, a child is 7 times more likely to be nearsighted.
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Ethnicity: Asians are more myopic than Europeans ("caucasian race"). There is even a real epidemic among Asians today, because the increasing amount of close work (see next point) provokes more myopia among them than among Europeans.
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A lot of close-up work (reading / computer / gaming / smartphone) makes your eye more nearsighted. Proof: In the past, the Eskimos (almost all hunters) had hardly any nearsightedness. Now that the Eskimos are also starting to work with computers, they are becoming nearsighted. Close work means that you tighten the lens of your eye = accommodation. So too much accommodation would provoke myopia. It is possible that accommodation triggers pressure increase and hence length increase
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Exophoria: if eyes have a tendency to squint outwards (="exophoria"), the eye seems to evolve towards myophoria more quickly, because a higher negative lens creates a favourable prism effect If the technical explanation interests you, the following explanation can be given: When you start reading, your eyes turn inwards and look through the inner side of the glass which, with negative correction, creates a favourable prism (basic nasal ) to relieve the exophore. The stronger negative the glass, the more prism !
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What can you do about it? Avoid accommodation.
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You cannot change heredity. The trick seems to be: preventing acclimatisation.
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It seems that the spectacle intensity is not equal, over the retina surface: at the side ("periphery") of the retina, the image falls behind the eye (looks like farsightedness= hypermetropia) : "peripheral hypermetropic defocus". This would cause myopia: the eye becomes longer because the side of the retina wants to become normal. A special contact lens (+2 extra on the side) could solve this. This would result in an average of 60% less evolution. These contact lenses already exist, e.g. Coopervision - Misight 1 day (day lens) - can be used for children from 8 years old - cost price: +- 600 € on a yearly basis, to be compared with other good day lenses. Best kept until after the studies. Also night lenses would have the same effect because they only correct the central part of the cornea and leave the side near-sighted. However, this is a more expensive solution that requires more care.
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More light means less accommodation needed for magnification - so sunlight protects. Smaller pupil would also shield the side of the retina, which is farsighted and requires more accommodation than normal. Conversely: reading in the dark requires more accommodation! Therefore: read in good light, preferably outdoors. Play more outside - then you automatically read less and you have more light It is recommended to play outside for at least 45 minutes a day and preferably even 2 H
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There seems to be evidence that an eye drop with a low dose of atropine (0.01 % - apply 1X/day (best in the evening) would stop the lens from tightening when reading (= accommodation) and would therefore inhibit myopia evolution. This certainly has some effect, especially in the second year: less rapid evolution. Do not stop after 1 year, otherwise you will relapse quickly.
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More sleep: 9h for a child= less accommodation time / less reading in the dark
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Less accommodation with double vision lenses would help. If necessary, an extra prism can be added to treat exophoria. Since double vision lenses are quite expensive, this is not really feasible for children who evolve quickly and glasses break regularly. The exception is Eyezen lenses: an inexpensive form of double vision lenses that are intended for a lot of screen work and can also be used for children.
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Do not keep the text too close (= less than 30 cm), otherwise you need more accommodation : the former rule of keeping a bar of 30 cm between head and text is still a useful one.
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With undercorrection of myopia, you need less accommodation. So: rather some under-correction than optimal correction in children. Even better: reading without myopic glasses (can be done perfectly up to -3 ). However, studies show that a slight undercorrection does not seem to work well. You would probably have to undercorrect by +2 to get any effect, which is not practical.
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Read and play in moderation: take a break after 20 minutes, preferably outside = more daylight / less accommodation.
Important rule that you will find in many articles on myopia prevention: "20/20/2 rule". I.e.: after 20 minutes of close vision, look 20 seconds far and play outside for 2 hours.
It is best to start myopia prevention when a child of myopic parents turns out to be myopic at a young age (6 to 8 years). It is best to keep this up until the age of 18.
MORE INFO ON MISCELLANEOUS DAILY LESSONS for children
Lenses are an advantage for all children:
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Lenses give children more freedom to play outside
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Brilliant glasses easily give rise to bullying behaviour. This is not the case with contact lenses, where the child suddenly becomes "normal" again.
Daily disposable lenses are more child-friendly and therefore more commonly used by children today than monthly disposable lenses:
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No maintenance
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Very hygienic as you have a new lens every day
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Daily disposable lenses make loss and tears less of a problem
Misight 1 day has a number of additional advantages
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Easy to manipulate because the lens is somewhat stiffer than a classic day lens
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Inhibits 58% of the myopia evolution
Misight 1 day is a day lens with "activcontrol technology. This means: This special design ensures a sharp focus point centrally on the retina, while the side of the retina remains myopic. The areas marked with the dark rings provide a +2 correction, which means that the side of the retina remains myopic. There is already more than 4 years of experience with these lenses, in which the myopia inhibition has been proven.
And this at no extra cost:
This day lens is comparable in price with the better silicone hydrogel day lenses: 330€ for 6 months - 600€ per year
DECISION :
Because the MISIGHT lens can be used without extra effort compared to other daily lenses, it is the lens of choice for young children with myopia, especially if it appears to be rapidly progressing. It is best to use this lens also when both parents of the child are nearsighted: double heredity