With just about a month into school, many parents have gotten teacher feedback or comments from their children about difficulty seeing the board in front of the classroom or their reading skills have diminished. Don’t panic Myopia or Near-sightedness and Short-sightedness typically begins as early as age 6 and can come at any age through adulthood.
This would be a great time to schedule your child’s appointment with us to have their vision and overall eye health checked. You do not want them to fall behind in school for this simply corrected issue. There are some other symptoms to be alert to other than problems seeing:
- Blurred vision when viewing distant objects
- Frequent squinting and blinking
- Headaches
- Eye Strain
- Difficulty with nighttime driving
- Needing to sit closer to the television or computer
- Holding books and tablets uncomfortably close while reading
Myopia is not something that will go away or cure itself, it is a progressive visual disorder that results in poor distance vision. Interestingly, in the year 2,000, it is estimated that approximately 25% of the world’s population was nearsighted. By the year 2050, it’s anticipated that nearly half the people on the planet will be Myopic.
Severe myopia severe may impair near vision as well. In addition to deteriorating vision, it also changes the physical form of the eye which may increase the chance of eye disease in the future. It can steepen the front surface of the eye (cornea) and/or stretch the retina (axial elongation). It is one of the leading causes of blindness around the world and has a direct association with retinal detachments and glaucoma.
Nearsightedness can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery. Eyeglasses are no longer the dreaded items they were when the baby boomers were kids. They are a wonderful fashion accessory to add to your child’s already blooming personal taste.
A new treatment you may want to consider is CRT, or Corneal Refractive Therapy. This is a non-surgical option that helps correct nearsightedness without the daytime use of contacts or glasses. CRT lenses are worn at night and correct the curvature of the cornea while sleeping so you can see clearly during the day.
Another option is Ortho-K (short for Orthokeratology) is a non-surgical solution for patients with myopia (nearsightedness) that uses specially designed contact lenses (like Paragon CRT lenses) to improve vision.
When worn overnight, Paragon CRT contact lenses gently correct the curvature of the cornea, resulting in a corneal shape that focuses light correctly onto the retina. When removed in the morning, distant objects will come back into focus and patients can see clearly without the use of glasses or daytime contacts.
Call any of our 3 convenient locations and visit to speak to our staff to determine which option is best for you or your child.
395 Highway 33
Mercerville NJ 08619
609-586-0273
498 Monmouth Rd
Millstone NJ 08510
609-259-2221
11 Friends Lane, Ste 101
Newtown PA 18940
215-550-613