Myopia Control | Oakville, ON | Bronte Village Eye Care

Myopia Control for Growing Children

Myopia affects an increasing number of Canadian children each year, preventing their ability to discern faraway objects. Since 80% of a child’s learning occurs visually, myopia can severely impact how well they perform at school, sports, or other activities.

At Bronte Village Eye Care, we recognize that effectively managing myopia in children can provide them with a better long-term quality of life. We also understand that people can be affected by myopia at any age, so we work with a diverse range of patients to help them overcome the challenges this condition brings.

If your child is nearsighted, bring them in for an appointment to discuss our myopia control options to help preserve their eyesight.

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What Is Myopia?

Myopia is the medical term for nearsightedness. It is a refractive error caused by problems focusing light directly on the retina, which is needed for clear vision. In people with myopia, far objects appear blurry, while close-up objects are clear.

In children, myopia usually occurs when the eyeball grows too long. Although eyesight can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses, these methods don’t prevent myopia from worsening as your child grows.

Why Control Myopia?

Controlling the progression of myopia helps to preserve your child’s eyesight for the future. Traditional glasses and contact lenses correct refractive errors in the central vision, allowing your child to see clearly. However, they do not prevent myopia from progressing.

Myopia control methods signal to the eye to stop growing longer, helping to slow the changes to their prescription over time. This will also help your child’s prescription stabilize at a lower level of nearsightedness.

This is important not only for their vision, but also for the health of their eyes. High myopia, including prescriptions of -5.00 diopters or more is associated with an increased risk of various eye diseases, including glaucoma, myopic maculopathy, cataracts, and retinal detachment.

By controlling the progression of myopia in children, we help to preserve their visual clarity and their eye health for the future.

Our Myopia Control Methods

At Bronte Village Eye Care, we offer various methods to help control the progression of myopia in children and young adults. Myopia control is most effective when started early and in individuals whose prescription has not yet stabilized. Myopia control cannot reverse changes to eyesight that have already occurred, but it can help prevent rapid changes in the future.

Our practice offers spectacle lenses, soft contact lenses, and atropine eye drops for myopia control. Click on each title to learn more about these methods.

We carry MiSight daily disposable lenses from CooperVision, which are specially designed to help control myopia. MiSight contact lenses use ActivControl™ Technology to slow myopia progression by an average of 59% compared to single vision lenses.

Similar to multifocal contact lenses, MiSight lenses include multiple powers. However, instead of using those powers for far and near vision, MiSight lenses include a power to correct vision from myopia and other treatment zones that provide myopic defocus, which focuses peripheral vision in front of the retina rather than behind it.

We carry MiYOSMART spectacle lenses designed by HOYA, which help slow myopia progression. These lenses use defocus incorporated multiple segments (D.I.M.S.) technology to provide clear central vision and myopic defocus simultaneously.

MiYOSMART lenses can be cut to fit the frames your child chooses, allowing them to rock their glasses in style. They also offer sunglass lenses, so your child can continue their myopia control treatment while protecting their eyes.

Atropine eye drops are used to dilate the pupils. At very low doses, this medication can slow the progression of myopia in children. The eye drops are administered at night, before bed, and used in addition to single vision glasses or contact lenses, which correct vision during the day.

Atropine eye drops have shown minimal side effects and are considered safe for use in most children. While on atropine treatment, children need extra sun protection. We’ll discuss sun protection along with their treatment plan.

Keep an Eye Out for Myopia

The earlier we identify myopia in children, the more effective myopia control can be. Keep an eye on your children and watch for signs of vision problems. Kids with myopia often cannot express their vision difficulties or don’t know their vision is different from others.

Some signs you can watch for include:

Squinting or holding books and objects close to their face
Frequent complaints of headaches
Closes or covers one eye to see
Rubs eyes frequently
Says eyes are tired
Difficulty focusing in class or on near work, such as reading or Lego
Poor reading comprehension

If you notice any of the above signs, bring your child in for an eye exam. Your child should have a routine eye exam once a year. We can check their vision and develop a treatment plan if they are diagnosed with myopia.

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