Myopia Control Therapy

What is Myopia and Myopia Control Treatment?

What is Myopia?
Myopia, aka nearsightedness, or inability to see at a far distance.

What are some of the risk factors that could make my nearsightedness worse?
Age, current prescription, one or both parents being myopic, extensive near activities daily, Asian ethnicity.

My prescription changed again, what could be done to help slow down nearsightedness?
We recommend being proactive at slowing down the progression of myopia and therefore, will reduce the amount of myopia as an adult. Studies have shown that children's progression is reduced when spending a minimum of 2 hours per day outdoors. Every 1 hour additional time spent outdoors will reduce the prevalence of developing myopia by 2%.

What is the prevalence of myopia in children between 6 months to 6 years [24] [25]?
For most studies, myopia is defined as the spherical equivalent of -0.50D

• Non-Hispanic whites: 1.2%

• Hispanic whites: 3.7%

• Asians: 3.98%

• African Americans: 6.6%

​​​​​​​What age of onset, pre-myopia, will increase the risk of patients developing myopia?
Children that develop myopia by the age of 7-9 have a 54-80% chance of progressing past -5D

What are the risk factors for having a higher myopia from an ocular disease standpoint?
The World Health Organization classifies high myopia as -5.00D or greater, and compares the uncorrected vision of the patient as those who are considered legally blind.

What Is the prevalence of myopia in school age American children?
In 2010, 28% of the world population had myopia. By 2050, 50% of the world & 58% in North America.

What is Myopia Control (MC) treatment and how does it benefit me?
Myopia Controls are methods to slow down the progression of myopia in children. Since myopia can’t be reversed, the goal for treatment is to slow down the prescription and the axial length of the eye.

4 main treatments are available:

• Orthokeratology (ortho-K)/Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT):

  • Slow the progression by 50-80%

  • Using rigid gas permeable lenses, will be worn at night to reshape the cornea. This will help correct the nearsightedness during the day without any type of contact lenses/glasses wear

• Atropine drops

  • Slow the progression by 50-80%

  • Specialty compounded concentration of atropine drops are used nightly, will dilate and paralyze the accommodation, helping the retina defocus during the day

• Soft daily contact lenses

  • Slow the progression by 59% in MiSight

  • Daily wear contact lenses with special dual focus zones to help with vision and defocus based on pupillary changes

• Combination therapy

  • Atropine + Ortho-K

Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT) or Orthokeratology (Ortho-K)

We welcome you into our Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT) treatment program. You are beginning an exciting program designed to reduce and/or eliminate your dependency on eyeglasses or contact lenses.

The CRT lenses are worn every night while you sleep to help re-shape your cornea. During the day, your myopia or nearsightedness is reduced and eliminated, so you are not wearing anything and still able to see!

This treatment is ideal for all ages, especially in young children whose prescription is changing drastically from year to year or active adults who prefers not to wear anything during the day, either due to dryness or convenience.

​Ask our doctor about Myopia Treatment and how CRT lenses will benefit you.

What is Corneal Refractive Therapy?

How does CRT work?

Insertion & Removal video

Instruction to Wearer

CRT Care Guide

Recommended solution: uses daily to soak & disinfect your lenses

• ClearCare hydrogen peroxide, Boston Simplus, or Unique pH multi-purpose

Drops: Oasis Tears Plus, Celluvisc artificial tears, Boston Simplus

• instill into CRT lenses before inserting

• instill drops into eyes before removal

Rinsing solution:

• non-preserved saline sterile solution or multi-purpose solution

Enzyme cleanser: uses twice a month or as needed

• Progent cleanser, Optimun cleanser

Tips:

• always instill lubricating drops prior to insertion & removal

• insert CRT lenses right before going to bed

• need to have at least 6 hours nightly treatment
  
  
  

CRT lenses are rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses worn overnight to temporarily reshape the cornea, allowing for clear vision during the day without glasses or contacts.

• CRT is a form of orthokeratology (Ortho-K).

• Approved primarily for myopia (nearsightedness).

• Particularly popular in children and young adults, especially for myopia control.

Myopia control therapy refers to a range of treatments aimed at slowing the progression of myopia (nearsightedness) in children and young adults. While myopia itself can usually be corrected with glasses or contact lenses, controlling its progression is important because higher degrees of myopia increase the risk of serious eye conditions later in life, such as retinal detachment, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.