“We are allowing children to choose their own adventure”

Elizabeth Lumb and Katie Harrop emphasised the importance of taking a flexible approach to adapting myopia management interventions as children grow older during their 100% Optical presentation, Return of the myope.

Lumb shared that around one in three children worldwide have myopia, with this proportion closer to one in four in the UK.

The CooperVision director of global professional affairs for myopia management highlighted that there can be a tendency to think of myopia in terms of an elevated risk of pathology in later life.

However, she encouraged optometrists to think of the effects of myopia in the near term as well as the long term.

“What I would like to demonstrate today is that myopia doesn’t need to be a far-in-the-distance, abstract problem,” Lumb shared.

Harrop, a senior manager in global professional education at CooperVision, shared that when she started out as an optometrist, there was a perception that myopia was simply an inconvenience.

“Over the years, attitudes to myopia have changed hugely,” she said.

“We are now in a fortunate position where we have all of these interventions available to us,” she said.

Harrop discussed myopia management prescribing patterns revealed through an international survey of eye care professionals in 2016, 2019 and 2022. Preliminary results from a 2025 survey were also shared.

She highlighted that although a higher proportion of professionals are now incorporating myopia management into practice, single vision correction is still the most common option favoured by practitioners.

Lumb and Harrop talked delegates through a case based on the experience of Dan – a participant in the MiSight clinical trial. Dan’s myopia progression was compared to the average myopia progression in an age-matched control who did not receive myopia management.

As part of the interactive session, the majority of delegates favoured using myopia management spectacles when asked what vision correction would be suitable for seven-year-old Dan.

Harrop shared that myopia management spectacles are a straightforward option for a patient in this age group.

Lumb presented slides showing that while Dan’s myopia progression initially slowed when compared to an age-matched control, between the years of 10 and 11 his myopia progressed at the same pace as the control data.

“That change that he is experiencing in spectacles is probably not we would expect to see,” Lumb shared.

She shared that a potential reason for this lack of efficacy is that his wear time is falling below the recommended level.

Lumb shared the importance of reassessing the form of vision correction used for myopia management as a child grows older.

“One of the challenges we have to work through is whether the intervention they start off in continues to be the right one,” she said.

Harrop shared that during her career she has been an advocate of children and teenagers wearing contact lenses.

“When I was back in practice, I would look forward to the moment when I could prescribe contact lenses and see their joy at the prospect of being spectacle-free,” she said.

Harrop observed that there can be lifestyle benefits for teenagers and children wearing contact lenses – such as a greater freedom to participate in sport.

“We know that as a country we are becoming more sedentary, so we don’t want another barrier in the way of being involved with sports,” she said.

Lumb shared that when Dan grew older, he decided that he wanted to pursue a career in the military.

She highlighted that myopia control meant that he met the vision standard for his career.

“It’s a really positive and powerful story,” Lumb shared.

She highlighted that being able to limit someone’s final prescription can keep a range of career options available to them, from enrolling in the military to becoming a pilot or an HGV driver.

“We are allowing children to choose their own adventure,” she said.