Why Glasses Are Not the Solution for Progressive Myopia

What Is Progressive Myopia?

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a refractive error that causes blurred distance vision. It occurs when the eyeball grows too long, causing light to focus in front of the retina instead of directly on it.

Progressive myopia is nearsightedness that worsens each year, requiring a significant increase in vision correction of at least half a diopter.

Myopia progression is a rising concern among eyecare professionals because there is overwhelming scientific evidence that high levels of myopia are a risk factor for serious eye diseases in the future, such as glaucoma, cataracts, retinal detachment and myopic macular degeneration. Is your child's prescription rapidly changing? Myopia management can help slow down or even halt rapidly progressing myopia.

A young girl with red hair and glasses is sitting on a bed and using a laptop computer.

Why Are Glasses Not A Solution?

For decades, distance vision glasses have been prescribed to nearsighted patients to correct myopia, but according to the latest research, they may actually cause myopia to worsen.

Glasses correct distance vision by manipulating the way light is focused onto the retina. However, glasses only offer clearer central vision but don’t address images in the peripheral visual field. To compensate for this blurred peripheral vision, the retina actually stretches out in length — rendering the eye more nearsighted and exacerbating the underlying cause of worsening myopia.

What Is Myopia Management?

Myopia management is a specialized, scientifically proven program that slows or halts myopia progression in children and young adults.

If your child’s myopia has been rapidly increasing each year, myopia management can help slow it down or even halt its progression.

At our Myopia Control Center, we will assess your child’s eyes and vision and discuss the best myopia management strategy that will be most effective in controlling your child’s myopia progression.

To schedule your child’s myopia consultation, contact our Myopia Control Center today.

Our practice serves patients in surrounding Texas communities.

To learn more about our Myopia Management program, visit our Myopia Management page.

Frequently Asked Questions with Dr. Cassandra Knight

Q: #1: How does myopia affect a child?

A: A child with uncorrected myopia will typically experience eyestrain as they attempt to focus on faraway objects to see them more clearly. Other symptoms include headaches, tired and itchy eyes, blurred vision, and neck and shoulder pain.

Q: #2: Why are glasses not a treatment for progressive myopia?

A: While glasses correct progressive nearsightedness through ever-stronger prescriptions, they don’t treat the underlying problem: the elongated shape of the eye.

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