EYECAREGENERAL

Myopia Awareness Week 2024

Myopia Awareness Week 2024 is from May 13th to 19th.

Myopia, or near-sightedness, is an eye condition that causes distant objects to appear blurry. It is the most common refractive error, resulting from an irregular eye shape that leads to unclear vision.

Each year, Myopia Awareness Week provides an opportunity for parents worldwide to understand the increasing threat of myopia. Established in 2018 by a group of eye doctors and researchers at the Brien Holden Vision Institute in Australia, this initiative aims to educate parents about myopia and encourage proactive steps.

The prevalence of myopia is rising globally. By 2050, nearly half the world’s population—over 5 billion people—are expected to be affected. While prescription glasses and contact lenses can help nearsighted children and teens see better, myopia’s effects often extend beyond this.

Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to myopia, but recent increases are largely attributed to environmental influences. Studies show that reduced outdoor time and increased near-focused activities, such as reading or screen use, may contribute to developing myopia. Myopia occurs when the eyeball is elongated or when the cornea or lens is irregularly shaped. In a healthy eye, light focuses directly on the retina, but in myopia, it focuses in front of the retina, causing distant objects to appear blurry.

Symptoms of myopia can be subtle in children, and they might not recognize any issues. Signs to watch for include:

  • Frequent squinting
  • Rubbing their eyes
  • Difficulty reading from whiteboards or seeing distant objects
  • Holding items close to their eyes
  • Short attention spans
  • Fatigue after prolonged focus
  • Struggles in school
  • Occasional headaches (less common)

If you notice these behaviours in your child, it’s important to schedule an eye exam to assess their vision and eye health. Myopia often progresses throughout childhood and into the teenage years, leading to blurred distance vision despite correction.

On a vision prescription, myopia is indicated in the Sphere (SPH) column as a negative number (e.g., -1.25 diopters). The larger the number after the minus sign, the more severe the myopia, increasing the risk of serious eye issues later in life, such as retinal detachments, cataracts, and macular disease (myopic macular degeneration). The risk of complications grows with the severity of myopia, with high myopia (defined as -6D or worse) carrying significantly higher risks.

While corrective lenses (glasses and contact lenses) are the standard treatment for myopia, they do not prevent its progression and may even worsen it. The goal of myopia management is to prevent the elongation of the eyeball through drug therapy (eye drops that limit focusing) or specialised multifocal lenses that shift the focus in front of the retina.

Though myopia often has a hereditary aspect and cannot be entirely prevented, research indicates that its progression can be slowed, especially in children. Encouraging outdoor activities and reducing screen time may help, possibly due to increased sunlight exposure and the need to focus on distant objects. While myopia cannot be fully prevented, it can be managed through corrective lenses—such as multifocal glasses or contacts—and through drug therapies aimed at restricting focusing.

Image: Reproduced under Open Access from Hoang, Q.V., Chua, J., Ang, M., Schmetterer, L. (2020). pp 219–239. Imaging in Myopia. In: Ang, M., Wong, T. (eds) Updates on Myopia. Springer, Singapore. 

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