Myopia SOS with Prof Ian Flitcroft - Episode 2 - Stride into the water

Published: September 15th 2025

Myopia SOS! Advice from your Agony Aunt Dr Kate Gifford (optometrist), and Agony Uncle Professor Ian Flitcroft (ophthalmologist), helps you tackle the daily realities of myopia management, especially when patients don’t fit the easy mould. In part two of this six part series, Kate and Ian chat across the seas about myopia research and curly clinical cases, to help you achieve smooth sailing in practice.

What’s the cold water or pain points for you moving to the next steps in myopia management? Are you dipping your toes in by getting to know one treatment type? Kate says, for cold water swimming and myopia management – stride on in and don’t overthink it. Ian gives you the steps, and both explore a case on myopia correction versus management in a child with high astigmatism and amblyopia. Key red flags in childhood high myopia are also raised.

Yes, there may be some more oceanic references in this episode, and definitely some seagull sounds. Please share your questions and concerns with us through podcast@myopiaprofile.com.

NOTE: The new International Myopia Institute paper that Ian mentioned, on definitions of myopia correction, control and management, on which Kate was a co-author, has since been published: https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2803124

Meet the Authors:

About Kate Gifford

Dr Kate Gifford is an internationally renowned clinician-scientist optometrist and peer educator, and a Visiting Research Fellow at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. She holds a PhD in contact lens optics in myopia, four professional fellowships, over 100 peer reviewed and professional publications, and has presented more than 200 conference lectures. Kate is the Chair of the Clinical Management Guidelines Committee of the International Myopia Institute. In 2016 Kate co-founded Myopia Profile with Dr Paul Gifford; the world-leading educational platform on childhood myopia management. After 13 years of clinical practice ownership, Kate now works full time on Myopia Profile.