Communicating our way to a future free from myopia

As an optometrist, I’m acutely aware that myopia is soaring. In the US, prevalence has risen from 25% to 41% over the last three decades.¹ Similar growth can be found in the UK.²

Other countries have seen a drastic increase in childhood rates of myopia. In China, for instance, 76-90% of older schoolchildren are now myopic1. If these numbers continue to rise, over half the world’s population will be near-sighted by 20501. And this is a serious public health concern.³

 

We, as optometrists, have the power to turn the tide.

It starts with a conversation. To stop myopia progressing, we need to make the time to engage with our patients, especially the younger ones, and discuss the different treatments they have available to them. And we need to explore all the options together, whether that is glasses or lenses. 

In my practice in Holland, I stock a lot of Menicon products. In fact, Menicon is our biggest supplier. We currently have 94 children using Menicon Bloom™, which we think is an amazing treatment plan for myopia. Our patients seem to agree because the feedback has been very good. 

We started a few years ago with Menicon Bloom Night™. This is the first Ortho-K lens with CE approval for myopia control in Europe. The children like these lenses as they treat their eyes overnight, giving them clear vision when they wake in the morning so there’s no need to wear glasses or contact lenses in the day. 

Following the success of this, we added Menicon Bloom Day™ to our treatment portfolio around two years ago. I now have 50 children happily using these soft daily contact lenses.

Menicon Bloom Day™ combines myopia control and correction. After six years of wear, myopic children showed a slowdown in progression by approximately 85% compared to baseline.⁴ The correction is also great, offering an extended depth of focus design. This allows patients to see all points in focus at the same time (foreground, midground and background). 

 

It's important that children want the treatment themselves. Not me or their parents, but the children.

People ask me how I help our young patients understand the concept of treatment lenses. When I discuss treatment options, I always talk directly to the patient, whether they’re six or 16. (My youngest patient is six and a half years old and wears soft contact lenses. My youngest RGP patient is eight years old.) 

You have to proactively put the patient first, which includes communication. If it’s a younger patient, I’ll sit at their height. My chair goes down and theirs goes up and I face towards them, away from Mum and Dad, so we can have a proper conversation. 

I say, “Those are your eyes,” and I begin discussing their treatment with them, giving them autonomy to make their own decisions.

Most of the children like to hear what we can do for them. We tell them everything – what is happening and how it works. We explain they will have a check-up every three months and new lenses every six months. 

Throughout, I constantly remind the children that their treatment is important, that it will reduce the problems they may potentially have. They have to understand what we’re doing – and why. 

 

As eyecare professionals, I believe that we are the awareness for children. 

By this, I mean that we have a responsibility to raise awareness of myopia to encourage earlier diagnoses and proper treatment. 

The conversations we have today are necessary for the future. Not for ourselves but for children in the next decades. 

So we have to talk to our colleagues too. We need to help them integrate myopia management as a standard of care in their practices. It’s easier than many might think, thanks to the incredible treatment plans on the market today. 

I know because I’ve already integrated Menicon Bloom™ into my own practice. And I’ve created interest in the plan among my colleagues by talking about it every day. Now, they automatically discuss Menicon Bloom™ with the eligible patients they see. 

One thing that has proven very successful among practitioners in my practice is having an ongoing tool like the Menicon Bloom™ app. This app allows us to revisit and adapt treatment as the patient moves along their journey. And this helps us meet the needs of our patients in a way that suits them in their daily lives.

 

We are making good progress with raising awareness of myopia in Holland.

Just yesterday, there was a whole segment dedicated to myopia on the TV. But this is a global issue, and optometrists everywhere need to make sure it is number one on their list in consultation with their young patients. 

We all need to keep discussing it. We all need to keep telling our colleagues about it. And we need to show our patients all the benefits that myopia management can offer them.

 

Author

Mario Pico is an optometrist and highly respected contact lens specialist, based in Delft at Van Der Leeuw optics. He also specialises in cataract and laser surgery, as well as progressive contact lenses and myopia management. His goal is to provide his customers with industry-leading services and products such as Menicon Bloom™. 

 

References

¹Myrowitz E. H. (2012). Juvenile myopia progression, risk factors and interventions. Saudi journal of ophthalmology : official journal of the Saudi Ophthalmological Society, 26(3), 293–297

²Cumberland, P. M., Bountziouka, V., Hammond, C. J., Hysi, P. G., Rahi, J. S., & UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium (2022). Temporal trends in frequency, type and severity of myopia and associations with key environmental risk factors in the UK: Findings from the UK Biobank Study. PloS one, 17(1), e0260993 

³https://myopiainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Myopia_report_020517.pdf

⁴Cooper J, O'Connor B, Aller T, Dillehay SM, Weibel K, Benoit D. Reduction of Myopic Progression Using a Multifocal Soft Contact Lens: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Clin Ophthalmol. 2022 Jul 4;16:2145-2155.