Myopia, otherwise known as nearsightedness, is a common vision condition that causes people to have trouble seeing things that are far away. They may see very clearly up close while anything further away is blurry. This is caused by the lens being shaped wrongly. It causes the area where the image is projected inside the eye to miss its target. This is what causes the blurriness far away. When children have myopia, myopia management techniques can help. Once a child has had our optometry doctor do an eye care exam, our pediatric eye doctor can see whether myopia control is needed in order to slow the progression of the vision condition. To get an appointment with our optometrist at Gaint Optical, call our optometry center in Hempstead, NY.
Eye Drops
Once a child has lost some vision to myopia, there is no getting that sight back unless they get surgery as an adult. However, children with myopia have a faster progression of the condition than adults do. This can mean that they have serious myopia as adults that requires strong vision correction. However, atropine eye drops are effective for many patients to have their myopia progression slowed down. This means that it won't get as bad as it otherwise would have. This myopia control method is relatively easy to administer, and kids can quickly get used to getting their eye drops each night when it's bedtime. Be sure to administer them as our optometrist prescribes them for the most help possible.
Contact Lenses
While you might not have considered getting contact lenses for your child, but ortho-k contact lenses are a specialty type that are made to help with myopia management. Ortho-k lenses put pressure on the lens as they are worn so that the lens goes back to a better shape for clearer vision. These contacts are worn by children at night only so that the vision is corrected for the next day. When they wear these contacts while sleeping, they won't need a vision correction method the next day. That means a break from glasses and better sight while using this treatment method. Like atropine eye drops, they help to slow myopia's progression so that it doesn't keep rapidly getting worse.
Call Our Optometrist at Our Optometry Center for Eye Care and Vision Correction
When you need an pediatric eye doctor, we are here to help. Your child's eye care exam is important, and they should have it once a year to track their myopia. Whether they need atropine drops or ortho-k, one of these methods may help them on the road to vision that isn't as blurry as it could get. Call on our pediatric eye doctor in Hempstead, NY, to schedule an appointment. Call us at (516) 481-2020 for Giant Optical.