Myopia in children

Myopia is the most common refractive error on the planet. Roughly half of the human population are believed to have some form of myopia. Typically, myopia is easily fixed with corrective lenses in the form of glasses or contact lenses. It's really nothing to be too concerned about unless it's going unaddressed.  

Unfortunately, myopia is common across all age groups, even young children. Understanding what myopia is and how a child might interpret myopic vision can be helpful in getting them treatment early.   

What is myopia?

Myopia is a common optical error. It's characterized by an elongation of the eye and is accompanied by blurred vision when looking at distant objects like whiteboards or traffic signs. Myopia does not impact up-close vision meaning day-to-day tasks like reading and using a computer would be unaffected.  

Myopia is referred to as nearsightedness, as you can see near but not far. Besides elongation of the eyes and blurry vision, myopia is also typically associated with squinting, headaches, and eye strain. In some instances, it may even be associated with overall fatigue when performing activities that require accurate distance vision.  

Children and myopia

The most difficult part of identifying myopia in children comes from communication skills. Some children don't quite understand what the world should look like or have seen the world a certain way for their entire lives. Children may not understand that something is wrong.  

The best thing a parent can do to identify vision problems is to listen and pay attention. If their child is often sitting too closely to televisions or computers, squinting, covering an eye, or simply rubbing their eyes it may be time for an eye exam. This is especially true if their child complains about headaches often or expresses frustration while in class.  

There is also a possible genetic component to myopia. If either parent has myopia, their child is significantly more likely to develop myopia.  

How to cure or treat myopia 

Fortunately, there are several ways to treat myopia. In some cases, myopia may even be resolved if caught early enough in children.  

Contact lenses or glasses

Both contact lenses and glasses are great options for treating myopia. Glasses may be easier for children to work with as it requires much less coordination to put a pair of glasses on. Once their child feels ready, the switch to contacts is an easy one to make with their eye doctor.  

If you think your child is ready for contacts and have already discussed the switch with their eye doctor, you can find any contact lens on our site.

Orthokeratology (Ortho-K)

A relatively uncommon type of vision correction, orthokeratology (or Ortho-K) uses a special type of contact lens to reshape the eye overnight while sleeping.  

Orthokeratology's effects are debatable as most who use the lenses find the effects to be short-lived. There is some evidence to suggest that orthokeratology may be effective at treating myopia in children as their eyes are still growing, but it is not definitive. It also comes at a higher risk to the child as eye infections are more common with Ortho-K lenses.  

Low-dose atropine drops

Atropine drops are a special kind of eye drop that dilates pupils. They are typically associated with eye exams as they are most often used by eye doctors to get a good look at your retina and other vital parts of the eye.  

Utilizing atropine drops in a low-dosage form is a very recent development in ophthalmology. Administering 0.01% atropine drops nightly to a child or adolescent with myopia has been shown to slow its progression. The understanding around this effect is still not entirely understood but it is being widely adopted by pediatric ophthalmologists as a treatment for childhood myopia.