Myopia control for young children - atropine etc

[flyingpinkrabbit]

My DC is very young and has been dishonours with myopia. Has any parent experienced this and used any method of myopia control? Such as atropine drop, Othro K lense, Misight and Hoya frames? Thanks

@underneaththeash

The corneal structure changes a lot in early childhood, which is why practitioners only fit from age 6 (and only then if they meet any other suitability criteria). If several optometrists have told you that she isn't suitable, there is a reason for that.

If you post your daughter's prescription and age and if she has any co-dependent eye conditions (like ROP), I will tell you the options for her eyes. There are a few trials at the moment which she may be eligible for.

Thank you, I was told that my child is young and also the prescription is not high enough to fit Ortho K. Do you know MiSight?

I think you can get atropine here:
my-iclinic.co.uk/eye-treatments/myopia-control-clinic/
One has to pay, it is hundreds to see Mr Bolger. We have used atropine, misight and ortho k lenses, both children are now on ortho k. Mr Bolger was not getting the results he hoped for with atropine when we last saw him a year or so ago. He very much emphasises lots of outdoor time, looking up regularly when doing close work and treatment.
Don't feel guilty, lots more children are short sighted due to lifestyle changes.

@TimeZonedOut

I think you can get atropine here: my-iclinic.co.uk/eye-treatments/myopia-control-clinic/ One has to pay, it is hundreds to see Mr Bolger. We have used atropine, misight and ortho k lenses, both children are now on ortho k. Mr Bolger was not getting the results he hoped for with atropine when we last saw him a year or so ago. He very much emphasises lots of outdoor time, looking up regularly when doing close work and treatment. Don't feel guilty, lots more children are short sighted due to lifestyle changes.

Thank you for the reply. I was recommended to see Mr Bolger but the waiting time is very long. Are you still using Atropine or have you stopped? How was your experience with Misight and do you prefer Ortho K? Thank you

Our local optician thinks ortho k is better at reducing the progression of myopia but they are trickier to use as the lenses are hard. We started one child on MiSight but they moved to ortho k when our optician said this. Ortho k also means perfect sight in the day with no lenses in or glasses, MiSight lenses can drop out and are a problem for swimming but easier to use/more comfortable.

We stopped atropine as it didn't seem to be helping a lot and we had moved to ortho k. Also a lot of money and we had to travel to the clinic.

There is an NHS trial of atropine going on in Birmingham.

Yes I fit some MiSight and orthoK.
But what is your child’s age and prescription?? (I’ve asked that several times). It’s complete conjecture until we have that information.

@underneaththeash

Yes I fit some MiSight and orthoK. But what is your child’s age and prescription?? (I’ve asked that several times). It’s complete conjecture until we have that information.

My child is not yet 6 years old and has -1 in both eyes. The axial length and curve are normal. My initial idea was to use OrthoK and now I’m also considering MiSight. Could I seek your advice from your experience? Which method is the most effective one for younger children in slowing down myopia progression? Thank you.

For a six year old with -1DS, I'd usually try atropine first.
It's not a high prescription (yet).
Did they have a test done with the drops which make their pupils bigger?

THE most important thing you can do for you child though at the moment is make sure they are having plenty of time outside - at least 2 hours every day. Make sure that if they're doing lots of close work they take frequent breaks. Not too much time on tablets.

@underneaththeash

For a six year old with -1DS, I'd usually try atropine first. It's not a high prescription (yet). Did they have a test done with the drops which make their pupils bigger?

THE most important thing you can do for you child though at the moment is make sure they are having plenty of time outside - at least 2 hours every day. Make sure that if they're doing lots of close work they take frequent breaks. Not too much time on tablets.

Thank you for the kind reply. Yes we did have the drop for the eye test, so it's -1. I was recommended to use atropine alone for the time being, but it seems the atropine drop contain preservative. In your experience, would the preservative cause any harm? How many years does the child need to use? What about just use MiSight? Thank you for your advice.

@underneaththeash

For a six year old with -1DS, I'd usually try atropine first. It's not a high prescription (yet). Did they have a test done with the drops which make their pupils bigger?

THE most important thing you can do for you child though at the moment is make sure they are having plenty of time outside - at least 2 hours every day. Make sure that if they're doing lots of close work they take frequent breaks. Not too much time on tablets.

Sorry to jump on this thread, when you say take frequent breaks from close work, what length of time are you talking?

@flyingpinkrabbit We are also looking for myopic control for kids in London. I wonder where you got the axial length measured and how much please? Thank you.

Hello,
Not sure if you’re still looking g for information on Myopia control but I have just this week started my 8 year olds myopia control programme. She is 8 and has been wearing glasses for screen for 1 year started off at -0.25 and at last check up was -0.5.
I have had an appointment in my diary for the last 6 months as have been reading up on it as I have very bad eyesight -7 😰 and I would hate for her to end up with it that bad. I think unless you have bad eyesight it’s hard to imagine what it’s like but I feel like it’s almost a disability-I definitely wouldn’t survive 5 minutes in some kind of apocalypse as can’t see a thing!!!
It used to bother me more appearance wise as I hate wearing my glasses and always wear contacts but as I get older I worry more about the health of my eyes.
Anyway for my daughters sake if there is a way to slow down her myopia some kind of % I will be happy.
I had been researching atropine drops but as it is not licensed in the UK I could only find one place called My-Iclinic in London that has the drops available. She has just been for her first appointment and has been given them, and advised to get the special glasses lenses and wear them all the time.
He was saying how important outside is and to read outside in daylight (she is a book lover)
however he didn’t seem to think it was genetic which I found a bit odd as me and my parents are all short sighted and he asked about family history but he was saying much more likely to be environmental. And his aim is to keep the eyeball within a certain measurement, he said the prescription is not as important as the length.
Have to go back every 6 months for a check up (we live 2 hours away, he said he has had people fly in from Scandinavia!)
Anyway I really hope she will be a success story especially as it’s a long term investment and it’s going to cost an absolute fortune, quick add up will be at least £10k if based on the next 12 years 🤢
double that if my youngest daughter goes the same way. I have had to take more hours at work to afford it.
Cost for us was £250 initial consultation, £40 drops per month, £200 consultation every 6 months.
Then the glasses I need to find a stockist but he said about £300, and don’t know how often will need new prescription on them!
Would love to hear of any more people have been doing myopia control longer term to see what sort of results they’ve had.

Thanks!

Hello, does anyone have any experience of myopia in young children and what is the youngest anyone has started on mi sight lenses? (Versus miyosmart lenses). Did you find them to be more effective at slowing progression.

@Farnhammummy1 I think from personal experience that would depend on your optician's preferences/opinions. We're in discussions at the moment as to which route to take but the optician has said they would in theory let my seven year old have lenses provided they are capable of dealing with the maintenance. This isn't specifically in relation to mi sight lenses but lenses in general.

Can you get a referral to an eye specialist? I got a private referral to Moorfields due to wider issues with DS's eyes. We were advised to get Hoya lenses and he was prescribed Atropine drops. This was only 4 months ago so I can't comment on it yet. DS is 9 and was previously using lenses with prisms to correct eye tracking.

The atropine drops are a pain though. Needs to be administered at bedtime and apparently it stings. So lots of grumbling.

Thank you. Currently in miyosmart glasses but had a jump in diopter over the summer which was disappointing. We see a consultant but in the process of changing over to moorfields privately hence considering atropine.

How do you stop worrying about it constantly ?

Hello. My daughter is wearing the Hoya glasses, and having the atropine drops, have her first 6 month check early December so can report back then. Not sure how quickly you see a change/slow down in progression. The glasses did say if there is more than .5 change then they will give another pair at no cost.
I had been really worried up until I took action, thinking how bad her prescription could get, but have found myself worrying less as it’s out of my control now, the results will be what they will be but I know I have done everything I can to try and help her and that gives me some peace of mind. (I have pinned a lot of hope on the glasses and atropine however so that could change!)

Out of interest, are the atropine drops on prescription or did you have to pay? We had to pay for the prescription around £500. The Hoya specs were also around £500 all in.

My DD is 10 and on Mio smart lenses. Too early to know if it’s making a difference.

However I wanted to say I have a prescription myself of about -10. It has really not been the end of the world. As a child it was less, maybe -4 or 5 but enough to mean I needed glasses all the time. Swapped to lenses at age 12 and was probably -7 by this time. I’ve used lenses without bother all my life and have recently had contact lens implant surgery so have perfect sight right now (till I need reading glasses).

What I’m trying to say is please don’t worry too much. Of course, try ways to help slow it down, but a high prescription really isn’t the end of the world. There are so many options these days.

Hi, thanks so much for your reply. I appreciate it. May I ask what prompted you to add in the atropine drops and if you were given any advice as to how long you could use them.

@flyingpinkrabbit we have just ordered the Hoya lenses for my DS16 after his prescription went down again to -3.5, it's gone down by almost a whole point every 6 months now, I will report back to let you know how we get on.