A brand new contact lens has been launched onto the market with some pretty bold claims, we wanted to find out more about it.
There is no doubt that myopia (or nearshightedness) is becoming increasingly common. Studies have shown that in the US over 40% of the population are nearsighted and in some Asian countries this level can be over 80%. With the current trends, these numbers seem set to continue to rise.
Myopia doesn't just inconvenience someone by requiring them to wear glasses or contact lenses to see distant objects clearly, but also makes the eye more prone to serious sight threatening conditions. It is this concerning aspect of myopia which makes controlling its development of particular interest. If we can reduce the risk of retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataract development and myopic macular degeneration then we can make a real impact on the health of our patients' eyes.
Currently we do not fully understand why myopia develops, although we are aware of various risk factors. It is also common to find that once myopia starts in childhood, it tends to continue to progress developing throughout the teenage years and even in to the early twenties.
There have been various different systems for slowing myopia progression used over the years including rigid contact lenses, orthokeratology, bifocal and multifocal spectacle lenses, bifocal contact lenses and even specific eye drops.
Studies have also shown that if children spend consistent time outdoors in natural daylight, myopia progression is significantly reduced, so we do encourage making lifestyle changes to try to minimise myopic changes.
All of the various systems that have been used previously have advantages, but significant hurdles, which has kept their use to a minimum before. CooperVision's new single use daily contact lens, MiSight, has the possibility of being a real game changer!
So our first piece of advice is to ensure plenty of outdoors time for children!
Our next post will look more at the actual technology of the lenses themselves.
