Simon Jones: A short-sighted attitude

As myopia awareness week drew to a close, it was interesting to read some of the online debate about myopia management in high street optometry practices, but what really struck me were the varying takes on the subject, even now.

Raising awareness of myopia and its management should revolve around mobilising parents and teachers, giving them the knowledge to make educated decisions about when to visit an optometrist.

But when the visit does come, practitioners should be singing from the same hymn sheet. Subjects of debate included: whether to measure axial length or use an Rx to chart myopia slow down, ‘gold standards’, and genetic (old) versus environmental (new) myopia. Some even described themselves as myopia management ‘disbelievers’.