Eye sight

[reinadames91]

My 6 year old daughter was just diagnosed with myopia. I'm so worried about the progression of this condition !!! How much did your kids myopia increase?

Unfortunately it is a high prescription for someone her age and can get worse until (usually) late teens/early twenties.

High myopia increases the risk for other eye conditions so it is natural to be concerned about it progressing.

I would enquire about myopia control however her prescription is too high for ortho k or misight contact lenses, so options will be limited. Research suggests time outside, regular breaks from computers etc and wearing glasses all the time can help slow progression. Otherwise there's not much else you can do unfortunately. Just make sure to have regular sight tests to monitor the prescription and health, and keep her glasses prescription up to date.

Hi OP I'm an optometrist. -7.00 at that age is concerning and will most certainly get worse.

Best advice is to find a local optometrist who practices myopia control. If you don't have anything available locally ask for a referral to your local paediatric ophthalmology department.

@princesspenny

Hi OP I'm an optometrist. -7.00 at that age is concerning and will most certainly get worse.

Best advice is to find a local optometrist who practices myopia control. If you don't have anything available locally ask for a referral to your local paediatric ophthalmology department.

I actually called the ophthalmologist that gave her the prescription and all she kept saying was that her eyes are healthy. Since it was her first visit she didn't talk about how I can slow the progression. She did say that it may actually get better. I will be going in for a second opinion with another doctor. I actually don't think her prescription is that high , the ophthalmologist didn't spend too much time with my daughter , and didn't seem worried and didn't give me much information. Therefore, I will be seeing another doctor. I hoping that her prescription is lower!!

@princesspenny

Hi OP I'm an optometrist. -7.00 at that age is concerning and will most certainly get worse.

Best advice is to find a local optometrist who practices myopia control. If you don't have anything available locally ask for a referral to your local paediatric ophthalmology department.

Reading online it seems very concerning but the ophthalmologist said to not worry that her eyes are healthy. She dilated her eyes and didn't find anything concerning . I will be going in tomorrow to see another doctor.

Are you in the UK op? The guidance we have in the UK is to discuss myopia control with parents when myopia is detected as progressive myopia in children is now a global concern.

If the doctor said her eyes are healthy that's great, no reason to question this but the issue is that high myopia is a risk factor for lots of eye problems in adulthood including retinal detachments, glaucoma and macular degeneration. So myopia control is more about preventing future problems, I'm not suggesting her eyes are not healthy now. Hope this makes sense

It’s not unknown for children to have very high prescriptions and not be aware. I tested a 9yo a few years ago who was -9.00 and was unaware of it.
If she is -7.50, then anything over 13cm will be blurred for her.
Just a thought though, she’s not -0.75 instead is she? Is there definitely a zero on the end?

@princesspenny

Are you in the UK op? The guidance we have in the UK is to discuss myopia control with parents when myopia is detected as progressive myopia in children is now a global concern.

If the doctor said her eyes are healthy that's great, no reason to question this but the issue is that high myopia is a risk factor for lots of eye problems in adulthood including retinal detachments, glaucoma and macular degeneration. So myopia control is more about preventing future problems, I'm not suggesting her eyes are not healthy now. Hope this makes sense

I'm in the usa , and I definitely agree that even if it was the first appointment the doctor should've talked about myopia control. That's why I'm going to another doctor.

@underneaththeash

It’s not unknown for children to have very high prescriptions and not be aware. I tested a 9yo a few years ago who was -9.00 and was unaware of it. If she is -7.50, then anything over 13cm will be blurred for her. Just a thought though, she’s not -0.75 instead is she? Is there definitely a zero on the end?

Wow it's shocking how there are no symptoms. Like my daughter that showed 0 symptoms , developing well and doing well in school. The doctor said it may improve. I'm praying that's the case.

I’m an optician. My first thought is (and I’m not meaning to be rude) are you sure it is -7.50 and not -0.75?
Assuming it is -7.50 that is very high for her age. I would refer to an ophthalmologist but it sounds like you have already seen an ophthalmologist, in which case it is unlikely there is anything to worry about if the ophthalmologist is not concerned.
Eye tests etc work differently in the UK compared to the US so posters here (including me) probably don’t understand the American system very well.

That is a very high prescription for her age so I would get a second opinion. Having said that, I was -6 at 4 and at 40 now my eyes are -9.50 both eyes and haven’t changed since I was about 18. So they often do stabilise with age. I would try not to worry about it. Get good glasses, get check ups and avoid things that are risky re retinal detachments - ie, no roller coasters, no bungee jumping (!), very careful to avoid knocks to the head etc. Try and take comfort that even if a detachment does occur prompt treatment usually saves the sight long term in at least 80 % of cases.

I don’t understand how she doesn’t have symptoms - I’m -9.50 so not that much worse really and I literally cannot see anything more than about 4 ins from my face. Everything is blurry. I certainly couldn’t watch tv and have any clue whatsoever what was going on!

Thing is though, as a small kid, you're not always really aware of how well you should be seeing. I was 5 or 6 when I first wore glasses and because I was able to read so well no-one had picked it up. I had wondered why I couldn't read the songs on the OHP in assemblies but had just thought I was too far away and didn't ever think it was my eyes that were the problem! Everyone was shocked when I turned out to be really short-sighted. Now I couldn't do a thing without wearing glasses or contacts! My prescription has also been stable for the last 20-25 years as well.

My DGD is +7.5. It was picked up when I took her for her pre school check. We had never noticed her having problems with her eyesight. This means that not only does she not see things close to, but it also affects the distance vision. My other DGD, her cousin, is partially sighted and nobody would know as she hides it so well. If your DD's prescription is -7.5 she may well be accepting that this is normal vision. She'll notice a huge improvement when she gets glasses.

@Ismellphantoms that's very normal, children are able to overcome longsightedness just by adjusting their eye focus as they have so much of it. Her vision won't have been that blurry if it was +7.50DS in both eyes.

My own DD is +5.00DS and she can see the bottom line of the chart without her glasses. (Her concentration though without them is awful!)

Hi everyone! I'm an a-level student currently completing my extended project qualification on whether children's eye tests could be improved by the NHS. I'd be really grateful if you could complete this survey for me about your child's eye sight and send it to other people if possible :)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgX5tiTBcnKY5k0TVsrfGy-m6AyTkcdXuyXgkJkxm_zxfg4g/viewform?usp=sf_link