We are so pleased to announce that we are now providing Myopia Care at Normandy Optical. But first, a little background. Myopia is also know as nearsightedness, which causes blurry vision far away. Currently, 30% of the world’s population is nearsighted. This number is predicted to increase to 50% in 2050, thus causing some to call it an epidemic. Higher amounts of myopia make the eyeball longer from front to back which increases the risk of optic nerve damage, retinal detachments, and myopic macular degeneration. Because of this, myopia is now being reclassified from a refractive condition to a disease.
I see many children (and some adults) who come in for their yearly eye exam and mention that their distance vision is getting worse, and sure enough, it is. I often get asked by parents “When will my child’s vision stop changing”? Or “How high will it go”? Or “Is there anything we can do about it”? Up until now, the only thing I could do was to prescribe stronger glasses or contacts and ask them to return in a year (or sooner if needed).
But now we have something more to offer. Myopia Care is a growing segment in the eye care field and there is solid research and studies showing that there are safe and effective treatments including eye drops, certain types of contact lenses, and environmental changes that can slow down or even stop the progression of nearsightedness. In fact, CooperVision just announced that they received FDA approval for their soft contact lens called MiSight 1. It was clinically proven to slow the progression of myopia in a multi-year study. There is a lot more information on our website including references and a risk calculator. You can find it here: https://www.normandyopticalcompany.com/services/myopia-care/
New Product Alert
Transitions (the lenses that darken when you go outside) recently upgraded their product to Gen8. Using “breakthrough technology”, the new Transitions lenses get darker outside, darken more quickly (about 30% faster), and most importantly, fade back to clear up to 3 minutes faster than their previous lenses. In addition, they block 100% of UV light and protect from harmful blue light. For more information, you can talk to us or visit here: https://trade.transitions.com/gen8
Do You Want to Help Someone “See”?
I recently heard about, and signed up for an app called Be My Eyes (https://www.bemyeyes.com/). When someone who is blind or visually impaired needs help, they make a phone call through the app. If you are available, you answer the call and they will show you what they need help seeing such as the color of a shirt or reading directions on how to cook something. Literally as I was typing this I just got my first phone call from a visually impaired person who asked me to help him read his medicine bottles. So cool!!!
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