Your child’s condition, called myopia or more commonly nearsightedness, is becoming
more prevalent in today’s world. In the past, all we could do was prescribe stronger and
stronger glasses until her prescription eventually plateaued in young adulthood
or beyond. However, in recent years there have been major advancements in what we
call myopia management that have shown promising results in slowing down the
progression of nearsightedness in children. For a couple of decades specialty contact
lenses, or in some cases therapies involving atropine eye drops, have been used to
successfully control myopia. However, contact lenses are not ideal for every patient,
especially younger children, and there are often compliance issues with eye drops.
Getting drops that can sting a bit into little eyes every day can be challenging to say the
least!
After years of research and development, lens manufacturers have designed eyeglass
lenses that can achieve results comparable to myopia control contact lenses or atropine
therapies. These specially manufactured lenses are designed to be worn like everyday
glasses and contain technology that focuses light in a different way to conventional
lenses. The great news is that longitudinal studies have borne out the fact that these
lenses are a safe, non-invasive, successful way to treat myopia in children. If you think
these products or any of the other modalities are worth exploring for your child, book an
eye exam with your optometrist and mention that you are interested in learning more
about myopia control. They will be able to guide you in what options would work best for
your unique situation.