Question
Hi,
I have just diagnosed the onset of myopia with my 6-year-old son. He just had a pre-school checkup and has a -1 prescription for each eye. Eye drops were not used for this prescription before eye exam. Should I take him to get a second opinion to prove true myopia? Are glasses generally required, right now?
As I thought my son has no problem with his eyes and I also have never worn glasses, I was really shocked.
Dear Dr, now I am so worried about my little son and progression of myopia. Does it necessarily increases and on average how often? I am afraid the myopia of my son can progress very fast with book reading and school works. I would like to try anything (of course, safe) for his eyesight to prevent progression.
I have heard of eye drops such as atropine to prevent the myopia progression and also treatment with Spectacle Lens designed by Polu university for myopia control. Which treatment is suitable for him? when the treatment should be started and How can I get these treatments?
With this prescription (-1) and at this age (6-years old), what should I do right now? I truly appreciate your advice.
Kind regards
Answer
Thanks for your Question
In order to find the correct refractive error your child has, your eye doctor should dilute both eye with cycloplegic eye drops such as cyclopentolate in order to relax the muscle inside the eye that is called ciliary muscle.
Kids with refractive errors should wear eyeglasses all the time to prevent the development of amblyopia.I don't recommend to use eye drops such as atropine instead of eyeglasses as it has multiple complications and can cause amblyopia in a long term.
There are many risk factors for myopia such as , genetic susceptibility, ethnic differences and Environmental factors. Many studies showed correlation between near work and the progression of myopia in pre-school kids and they found that the best prevention method of myopia progression is reduce educational pressure and increase time outdoors and sunlight exposure. Sunlight exposure is helpful for vitamin D as many studies showed myopia was associated with low vitamin D.
Another way to prevent myopia is to wear eyeglasses with bifocal or multifocal lenses as these can help to reduce the progression of myopia. Also bifocal and multifocal contact lenses can be more helpful than eyeglasses.You should speak with your optometrist about these options as you required multiple ocular examinations to find the correct power of these lenses.
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