Aa
High Myopia in Children
I have a son who just turned 5yrs. We notice he was looking at things very close up. I asked our pediatrican and he said it was a phase young children go thru. Then we went to a Children Opthalmologist and the doctor used a lense to look inside his eyes. Then he informed us that he has a high myopia -12.0.
We were told that myopia can be hereditary and I did have myopia myself as a child, but I started wearing glasses with a -2.0 and elected to correct vision with Lasik. When I did the surgery, I was a -7.5 and -8.0.
Have you heard of children at age 5 with myopia of -12.0? He was a full term baby (37 weeks) I am very concered that his eyesight will get worse or even go blind. The Opthalmologist said that he can see stretch marks in the back of the eye and that tears can happen, but no one will know if and when. Do they have anything surgical that can help my sons eyes from progressing worse or help correct his sign at this age? Can Lasik or surgery of that nature correct myopia of -12.0?
I also see that there are contact that can help with correcting vision by reshaping the cornea? Is this recommended for children of this age? Can it help my son?
Respectfully,
aseto
We were told that myopia can be hereditary and I did have myopia myself as a child, but I started wearing glasses with a -2.0 and elected to correct vision with Lasik. When I did the surgery, I was a -7.5 and -8.0.
Have you heard of children at age 5 with myopia of -12.0? He was a full term baby (37 weeks) I am very concered that his eyesight will get worse or even go blind. The Opthalmologist said that he can see stretch marks in the back of the eye and that tears can happen, but no one will know if and when. Do they have anything surgical that can help my sons eyes from progressing worse or help correct his sign at this age? Can Lasik or surgery of that nature correct myopia of -12.0?
I also see that there are contact that can help with correcting vision by reshaping the cornea? Is this recommended for children of this age? Can it help my son?
Respectfully,
aseto
my daughter started with -0.5 in both eyes at the age of 3 and 1/2 then went to -3.5 and -4.75 within 18 months. I was horrified when I was told it is only likely to go up. Now a year on and aged 6 she is -4.75 and -6.5. I know it doesn't seem as high compared to others, but to me it came as a great shock as neither me or my husband are shortsighted. I still get stressed over it especially after finding out aboout danger of retinal detachment. That scares me a lot.
I was told by someone that she should avoid any demanding exercise, especially if it involves jumping and landing on the hard surface. We have a trampolin in the garden and she does trampolining once a week after school!
Any of you other parents were given similar advice?
And has anyone tried holistic approach such as Bates method? Doctors are sceptical but I have been in touch with someone for whom it worked. I'd like to give it a go.
Lastly, from my own research on the internet into the subject of how to slow myopia, the only thing with a certain proven success seems to be Ortho K, but it works best on under -6. However, I was told it can be done for higher prescriptions with some top up lenses or glasses.
Anyone with any encouraging positive info on this subject?
I was told by someone that she should avoid any demanding exercise, especially if it involves jumping and landing on the hard surface. We have a trampolin in the garden and she does trampolining once a week after school!
Any of you other parents were given similar advice?
And has anyone tried holistic approach such as Bates method? Doctors are sceptical but I have been in touch with someone for whom it worked. I'd like to give it a go.
Lastly, from my own research on the internet into the subject of how to slow myopia, the only thing with a certain proven success seems to be Ortho K, but it works best on under -6. However, I was told it can be done for higher prescriptions with some top up lenses or glasses.
Anyone with any encouraging positive info on this subject?
as a child I had -12 and -10 (I still have the prescription from when I was 3.)
I am now 45 and the prescription has changed only slightly (ie .25) and until now I have maintained excellent vision (125%) i however get pressure etc checked on a yearly basis - greetings from berlin
I am now 45 and the prescription has changed only slightly (ie .25) and until now I have maintained excellent vision (125%) i however get pressure etc checked on a yearly basis - greetings from berlin
A related discussion, Extreme Pathological Myopia in a 5 year old..... was started.
A related discussion, surgery for high myopia was started.
A related discussion, high myopia was started.
I started with -8 dioptres @ age 7 then progressed to -18 and -21@ age 33.I started wearing semi-soft contact lenses and it is working for now...Recently my daughter 2 and a half is diagnosed with -8 both eyes...The comment by static is encouraging...any tips to prevent progression..Thanks
no, there is no "normal" rate of progression. unpredictable.
by "getting worse" i mean he will likely become more nearsighted, meaning he will need stronger & stronger glasses or contacts in order to see the best he could. the more nearsighted a person becomes, the higher RISK they are at for retinal detachment, which might cause blindness. there are surgeries to fix a retinal detachment, but they have to be caught early and it is a difficult and unpredictable procedure. but just b/c he is at higher risk for problems does not mean that he will have retinal problems. in fact, odds are he wont go completely blind.
no, there is no eye transplant.
your son needs an annual dilated eye exam probably by a retinal specialist/retinal surgeon.
by "getting worse" i mean he will likely become more nearsighted, meaning he will need stronger & stronger glasses or contacts in order to see the best he could. the more nearsighted a person becomes, the higher RISK they are at for retinal detachment, which might cause blindness. there are surgeries to fix a retinal detachment, but they have to be caught early and it is a difficult and unpredictable procedure. but just b/c he is at higher risk for problems does not mean that he will have retinal problems. in fact, odds are he wont go completely blind.
no, there is no eye transplant.
your son needs an annual dilated eye exam probably by a retinal specialist/retinal surgeon.
Thanks for the quick response!! I greatly appreciate it.
Just one last thing. You said that my son's eyesight would get worse over time. Is there a normal rate of progression? By the time he is 18, what would you expect his RX prescription to be?? Will he go blind and if the answer is yes, is there a such thing as eye transplants like they have for kidneys and hearts?? As you can tell, I love my son very much and the fact that he has pathological myopia scares me and I fear for him. He has his whole life ahead of him everything that this world has to offer. HOW CAN I HELP HIM??
Just one last thing. You said that my son's eyesight would get worse over time. Is there a normal rate of progression? By the time he is 18, what would you expect his RX prescription to be?? Will he go blind and if the answer is yes, is there a such thing as eye transplants like they have for kidneys and hearts?? As you can tell, I love my son very much and the fact that he has pathological myopia scares me and I fear for him. He has his whole life ahead of him everything that this world has to offer. HOW CAN I HELP HIM??
yes, having children that are -12 at age 5 is certainly not uncommon. i call that "pathologic" myopia. it is definitely hereditary.
yes, it is possible, even probable that your 5 year old will get increasingly nearsighted.
yes, laser might be able to reduce his myopia at some point, but your child will have to be 18 in the U.S. before he can have any laser procedure, and i doubt that by 18 he will still be -12. he will probably be worse by then.
there is no surgical procedure to keep your child from progressing.
accelerated orthokeratology (or A.O.K....a non-surgical refractive procedure in which the patient wears "retaining" lenses while sleeping) has been shown to slow or even stop myopia progression in some children. however, as of right now it is only FDA approved for Rx's UNDER -6. so according to the FDA, your child is not a candidate.
even though it would not be FDA approved in this case, you could probably find a practitioner somewhere willing to perform the procedure on your 5 year old, b/c the procedure is generally safe even when it is unsuccessful. if i were performing AOK on your son, i would tell you the following:
1) the cost will be significant...more than $1000 per eye
2) no guarantee that it would slow or stop his progression
3) if it did work, it would probably reduce his current myopia to about -6 or so best case scenario, with the *hope* that he might not get too much worse during his childhood years. it WOULD NOT make him totally glasses free. he will still need a significant rx. but the reason for doing it would be to try and KEEP HIM FROM GETTING WORSE, which AOK certainly could do under the right circumstances (again, no guarantee)
yes, it is possible, even probable that your 5 year old will get increasingly nearsighted.
yes, laser might be able to reduce his myopia at some point, but your child will have to be 18 in the U.S. before he can have any laser procedure, and i doubt that by 18 he will still be -12. he will probably be worse by then.
there is no surgical procedure to keep your child from progressing.
accelerated orthokeratology (or A.O.K....a non-surgical refractive procedure in which the patient wears "retaining" lenses while sleeping) has been shown to slow or even stop myopia progression in some children. however, as of right now it is only FDA approved for Rx's UNDER -6. so according to the FDA, your child is not a candidate.
even though it would not be FDA approved in this case, you could probably find a practitioner somewhere willing to perform the procedure on your 5 year old, b/c the procedure is generally safe even when it is unsuccessful. if i were performing AOK on your son, i would tell you the following:
1) the cost will be significant...more than $1000 per eye
2) no guarantee that it would slow or stop his progression
3) if it did work, it would probably reduce his current myopia to about -6 or so best case scenario, with the *hope* that he might not get too much worse during his childhood years. it WOULD NOT make him totally glasses free. he will still need a significant rx. but the reason for doing it would be to try and KEEP HIM FROM GETTING WORSE, which AOK certainly could do under the right circumstances (again, no guarantee)
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