Edinburgh opticians offering a new kind of contact lens

EDINBURGH-based Cameron Optometry has over 50 patients using ‘myopia management contact lenses’, one of the highest numbers of patients for any practice in the UK.

Here, clinical lead optometrist, Gillian Bruce, reflects on what she considers to be the positive impact that the lenses have had on children :

Explaining myopia management

“The rates of myopia in children is on the rise. Myopia is expected to affect 50 per cent of the world population by 2050. In the UK, the amount of myopia has increased from ten per cent to 23 per cent of children in the past 50 years.

“It is widely acknowledged that something needs to be done to reverse this trend. Myopia management contact lenses are proven to slow the progression of short-sightedness in children. Simply put, this means children will have a lower prescription when they reach adulthood than they would without the contact lenses.

“A high prescription increases an individual’s chance of developing serious eye conditions such as retinal detachment, in later life, in addition to the daily challenges that a high prescription brings.”

The research and results

Gillian added: “We read the extensive research before trialling the contact lenses, and were one of the first practices in Scotland to introduce them. The ongoing research firmly supports their effectiveness and we are encouraged to see hugely positive results in our own patients. In many cases, we have found children whose prescription had increased year on year have found their prescriptions stabilise with the lenses, whilst, in others, their progression of myopia has slowed significantly.

“The results have reaffirmed the benefits of the lenses, with our own experience adding weight to the effectiveness of the lenses.”

The future for myopia management

“It is hugely encouraging to hit this milestone; however, there are still so many who are unaware of the contact lenses and they are not widely prescribed. We will continue to promote the benefits of myopia management so parents are aware there is another option.

“The rates of short-sightedness in children continues to rise and, worryingly, there seems no sign that this will change. So, with that in mind, we hope the contact lenses become more widely used and more accessible to all.

“As the rates of myopia increase significantly across the world, we expect further developments in myopia management and will ensure our practice remains leaders in this field.”

What is myopia management?

Myopia management aims to slow down the progression of myopia in children and young adults through lifestyle changes, the use of specialised contact lenses, eye drops (not currently available in the UK) and in some cases spectacle lenses.

It is a relatively new concept although research into the causes of myopia and how to slow its progression has been ongoing for decades.

At Cameron Optometry, their expertise in contact lenses allows them to provide the most advanced options available based on up-to-date research. They have now been successfully fitting children with contact lenses for myopia management for three years.

Research has found the results of myopia management through the use of specialised contact lenses, to be effective, with recent studies showing that a 59 per cent reduction in the progression of myopia is achievable. It also concluded that contact lenses are tolerated very well by children.