Myopia Control

As a parent of school-age children, you may worry why your child’s eyes get worse every year. It is also very difficult to face the fact that myopic progression (the worsening of nearsightedness) will increase the risk of retinal problems and even blindness.

For children, nearsightedness usually worsens every year and the underlying question asked by all concerned parents is “what causes myopia”? Is myopia caused by genetics, reading, video games, computer, television, or even all of the above? The correct answer is all of the above. In animal tests, forcing the focus to occur behind the eye (minus lens effect or the experience when we focus on a nearby object) caused a growth of the eyes (myopic worsening) and forced the focus to form in front of the eye (plus lens effect), stopping or slowing the growth of the eyes. This phenomenon is called emertropization. According to animal models, we can conclude because of emertropization, myopia always worsens after wearing corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Human studies indicate that the accommodative (focus) status and convergence (eye muscle) status of the eye may play a significant role in worsening of eyes.   It is important to check the accommodative status and convergence status of the eyes to see if they have risk factors for emertropization.  Measuring accommodative status and convergence status may not be a part of normal eye exams that children typically receive. We examine accommodative status on every patient and spend extra time to check convergence status on everyone by using a special machine. A correct diagnosis of each child’s visual system and identification of risk factors is key to controlling myopia.