Myopia or short-sightedness is a very common type of focusing problem for the eyes that are found in many people. In this type of vision problem, the eyeball tends to be longer than ordinary and hence the eye is not able to focus an object on the retina which conveys the information to the brain. Let us say that the length of the eye becomes long and the vision gets blurred for distant objects. It can also lead to many types of irreversible eye diseases as structural changes take place at the back of the eye.
Contact lenses and spectacle can help in making the vision clear for distant objects. They are excellent corrective methods, but they may not be as helpful in stopping the lengthening of the eye or in ensuring that permanent ophthalmic diseases do not happen. Myopia control techniques can be the best ways to slow down the advancement of myopia or even stop it altogether. It can be achieved by using atropine eye drops, orthokeratology or by using multifocal contact lenses.
Atropine Eye Drops
This eye drop is there for many years so that myopia control can be achieved. The drops help in controlling the growth of eye receptors so that myopia can be slowed down. A higher concentration of this eye drop can help in significantly lowering the growth of axial length. Atropine drops with a concentration of less than 0.5 percent may not be readily available, and a pharmacist can help in preparing the same. If you want to achieve the best result of it, the eye drop must be taken every night so that myopia control can be realized.
Orthokeratology
It is a type of contact lens that can help in achieving myopia control. It is a custom-built lens that has to be worn overnight by a user so that it can temporarily and reversibly help in reshaping the front part of the eye. It starts working after a person goes to sleep so that on the following day, there will not be any need of wearing a contact lens or a spectacle at work! In many cases, it has been observed that orthokeratology has been able to slow down myopia progression significantly.
As per different studies on the subject, orthokeratology has been able to slow down myopia advancement from 32 to cent percent results. Therefore, it can be a very suitable option for deterring the growth of myopia in many patients.
Multifocal Contact Lenses
This type of lens is generally used by people who are over the age of 40 years so that near vision problem can be solved. These are types of soft contact lenses that have a similar pattern and curve like the orthokeratology has been observed that in young patients these contact lenses have been able to decrease the axial length growth by 38 percent. A patient who is practically almost blind and the orthokeratology lens does not suit, these lenses can be the most ideal option used alongside the atropine eye drops to achieve myopia control.
Spectacle lenses
Although regular spectacles do not offer any myopia control benefits, progressive additional spectacle lenses can help decrease myopia advancement by as much as 30 percent. The accommodative lag is addressed by the lens so that the progression of myopia can be effectively slowed down. You must, however, keep up the regular checkup going on. Consulting a deft optometrist can be useful in finding out more about this type of lenses and the ways that it can benefit a myopic individual.
These are some of the best ways by using which myopia control can be achieved by a person. It is very important to address myopia when it strikes because timely action will ensure that there is no further damage to the eyes and in many cases, it can be cured too.