Myopia is not a disease but a vision disorder characterized by blurred distance vision. It usually appears during school age, in childhood or adolescence, and progresses until early adulthood, when it tends to stabilize.
Of course, myopia can be easily corrected with glasses, contact lenses or LASIK surgery. However, it is important to know that high myopia associated with a longer than average eye can cause Retinal tearing, retinal detachment, glaucoma or myopic macular degeneration.
Dr. Maria Awid, optometrist at the IRIS store in Kirkland did her residency in myopia control at the School of Optometry of the University of Montreal. The School of Optometry at the University of Montreal is one of the top 5 universities in the world for research and application of myopia control. Together with her colleagues, Dr. Véronique Bougie-Bastien, Dr. Lindsay Reed and Dr. Liette Bougie, they offer this specialty practice to their young myopic patients.
Myopia control will give your child long-term eye health. A nearsighted child's eyes lengthen over time, blurring distant objects. And, if left untreated, nearsightedness can worsen as your child grows. With the various technologies available on the market to help control the progression of nearsightedness, we help children maintain long-term eye health. Myopia control slows down the rapid progression of myopia while slowing down the elongation of the eye.
Myopia control is done either by specialized ophthalmic lenses, pharmaceutical drops, specialized soft contact lenses or orthokeratology.
What is orthokeratology?
Orthokeratology is in fact a principle of corneal remodeling that consists in wearing rigid contact lenses during sleep, in order to obtain a clear and natural vision during the day without the need to wear glasses or contact lenses.
Orthokeratology is also considered to be an effective solution for curbing nearsightedness in young people under the age of 25. It is preferable that the young person does not start driving.
Another advantage of this method is that during the treatment period, vision is greatly improved during the day, often without correction. This treatment involves an initial adjustment of the lenses, as well as some follow-ups to ensure that the correction is adequate.
State of the art instruments
For the evaluation of their young myopia patients, the optometrists at the IRIS store in Kirkland have invested in a very sophisticated, state-of-the-art device that measures all the axes of the eye in order to offer a customized treatment: the Topcon MYAH. This device provides essential information to evaluate the risk of myopia and to closely monitor the effectiveness of treatments, by comparing measurements of the axial length thanks to the integrated evolution curves. A personalized treatment according to the young patient's condition.
The results
Myopia control greatly helps us to slow down the progression of myopia. With the right treatments and follow-ups we are now able to minimize the risk of high myopia. This offers us better ocular health, reduces the risks associated with high myopia and allows for a better quality of life!
To book an appointment for a complete evaluation, call (514) 695-0990 or click here
