Charlotte Timbury
Director of Medical & Professional Affairs, North Europe, EssilorLuxottica
A child may not be displaying symptoms of myopia (shortsightedness) — but it’s still important to get their eyes tested regularly in case any optical interventions are necessary.
Parents and carers aren’t always aware of the importance of getting children’s eyes tested regularly. That should change, insists Charlotte Timbury, Director of Medical and Professional Affairs for North Europe at EssilorLuxottica.
When to start testing children for myopia
A routine eye test can assess if your child has myopia (or shortsightedness), an eye disorder that results in blurred vision at a distance and clear vision at close range.
In most cases, this is due to the eyes being too long and usually develops in children of school-going age and tends to worsen every year until adulthood.1 “The earlier the onset of myopia, the faster it progresses and potentially reaches high levels2,” says Timbury. “Which is why it is important to have your child’s eyes tested as early as possible. Usually, we suggest the first eye exam from around four years old, as per NHS guidance.”
In the UK, evidence suggests that the prevalence of myopia in children aged between 10–16 years has more than doubled over the last 50 years, and children are becoming myopic at a younger age.3,4
Most children up to age
16 are recommended to
have a sight test every year.
Factors influencing the onset of childhood myopia
Several factors have been identified as possibly contributing to the onset of childhood myopia. These include parental history (a child whose parents are both myopic is up to five times more likely to develop the condition5); spending less time outside (lack of exposure to natural light can disrupt growth of the eye); and time spent on close work, such as reading and playing computer games.
Telltale signs in children may include complaining they can’t see the board at school, rubbing eyes, squinting and complaining of headaches and eyestrain (aka eye fatigue).
‘Correcting’ vs ‘controlling’ childhood myopia progression
If your child is found to have myopia, Timbury notes that there is an important difference between correcting the condition and controlling its progression. Correcting myopia is done with standard spectacle or contact lenses. Controlling myopia progression is achieved with specially designed spectacle lenses, such as Essilor® Stellest® lenses that both correct and work to slow down eye elongation and therefore slow down progression in children.
“Most children up to age 16 are recommended to have a sight test every year, but if your child is myopic, optometrists may suggest they are seen more frequently,” she says. “Generally, the sooner we can detect any vision problems in children, the better.”
[1] Hou W, Norton TT, Hyman L, Gwiazda J, COMET Group. Axial elongation in myopic children and its association with myopia progression in the Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial (COMET). Eye & Contact Lens. 2018 Jul;44(4):248.
[2] Sankaridurg, P., 2015. A less myopic future: what are the prospects? Clin Exp Optom, 98 (6), 494-6
[3] McCullough, S. J., O’Donoghue, L., & Saunders, K. J. (2016). Six year refractive change among white children and young adults: evidence for significant increase in myopia among white UK children. PloS one, 11(1), e0146332.
[4] Williams K.M., Hysi P.G., Nag A., Yonova-Doing E., Venturini C., & Hammond C.J. (2013) Age of myopia onset in a British population-based twin cohort. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. May;33(3):339-45. doi: 10.1111/opo.12042. Epub 2013 Mar 20. PMID: 23510367.
[5] Jones L, Sinnott L, Mutti D, Mitchell G, Moeschberger M. Parental history of myopia, sports and outdoor activities, and future myopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2007; 48(8): 3524-3532.
