Total Myopia Program

Myopia is one of the most common refractive errors in the US, and the number of people affected is growing higher. Researchers believe that half the world will have myopia by 2050. But this doesn’t mean you can’t have clear vision with myopia.

There are several ways to manage myopia progression in your kids through myopia control methods like ortho-k, atropine drops, and multifocal lenses. Our “Total Myopia” program refers patients to practices with the technology to help your children with fitting ortho-k lenses.

It all starts with appointment with our team, and we’ll get to work developing a plan that fits you or your child’s needs.

Book Appointment

What Is Myopia (Nearsightedness)?

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a refractive error that affects your distance vision. When you have myopia, it can be difficult to see signs while driving, read a whiteboard in class, or see a theater screen clearly.

Without control techniques like the ones we offer here at Golden Hills Optometry, your myopia can worsen as you get older. These techniques include:

Multifocal lenses
Atropine eye drops
Ortho-k

Myopia in Children

Myopia develops when your eyes elongate over time. As your eye grows longer, it becomes harder for light entering through your lens to reach your retina. Children need good vision to succeed in school, sports, and life. Some children are misdiagnosed with behavioral problems or learning disabilities when in reality, their vision is the problem.

When kids have trouble with their eyesight, it can impact their daily life at school, including reading from a distance, seeing the board, and participating in sports and other activities.

Book Appointment

Methods of Myopia Control

Each of our treatments is tailored to your or your child’s needs. However, before we can help control your myopia, we need to perform an eye exam to determine which option is best for you or your child.

For ortho-k fittings, we refer to other practices through our “Total Myopia” program to provide the technology, such as axial length measurements and corneal topography for our patients.

Multifocal Lenses

Multifocal lenses are a common strategy for controlling myopia. What makes these lenses effective is that they can correct your peripheral vision enough to focus light just in front of your retina. This signals your eye to slow down how fast it elongates.

Correcting your peripheral vision can help prevent your eye from elongating further.

Atropine Eye Drops

Low-dose atropine is a promising treatment method for children with myopia. Studies have shown that a low dose of atropine in eye drop form can help slow the progression of myopia in children to reduce the risk of severe nearsightedness.

Studies have shown that low-dose atropine eye drops can slow down myopia progression, especially for children.

Orthokeratology Through Total Myopia

Through our “Total Myopia” program, we are able to refer you out to other practices with the technology to manage myopia through innovative methods such as ortho-k lenses. Through axial length measurements and corneal topography, we can help your children get a safe, comfortable for their new lenses.

Axial Length Measurement

Axial length, which refers to the distance from the front to the back of the eye, is a key factor in myopia. When the axial length increases, so does the degree of nearsightedness. It’s like having a dress that’s too long—it doesn’t fit quite right and needs adjustments.

Moreover, the axial length measurement is not just a one-time thing, it’s an ongoing process. Axial length measurement and myopia control go hand-in-hand.

Regular measurement of the axial length can provide valuable information on the progression of myopia and the effectiveness of chosen treatment methods.

Corneal Topographer

A corneal topographer is an instrument used in the orthokeratology (ortho-k) process. It creates a three-dimensional map of the surface of the curvature of the cornea—the outer structure of the eye.

This map helps your optometrist identify if your children are suitable candidates for ortho-k lenses and determine if their eyes have the appropriate shape and health status for the procedure. Our “Total Myopia” program aims to refer you to practices with the technology to fit ortho-k lenses through corneal topography and axial length measurements.