What is Myopia?

Myopia is a refractive error that impacts your distance vision. When your eye is too long, or the cornea is too steep, the lens in your eye ends up focusing light in front of your retina instead of on it. This causes blurry distance vision, which can be corrected using glasses or contact lenses.

Myopia becomes progressively worse as we age, resulting in the need for stronger glasses over time.

How Myopia Can Be Controlled

During childhood, myopic eyes change frequently. This causes the refractive error to become steadily worse over time. Myopia can be controlled to slow progression using a variety of methods, including atropine drops, ortho-k, and MiSight.

Atropine Drops

Atropine eye drops can significantly slow the progression of myopia in children by relaxing the focusing mechanism. However, atropine does not reverse myopia, and children who use these drops still require glasses for clear distance vision.

Ortho-k, or orthokeratology, use specialty contact lenses to control myopia. The rigid, gas permeable lenses are worn overnight, gently reshaping the cornea while your child sleeps, and temporarily correcting myopia. When the contacts are removed in the morning, the eye temporarily retains its new shape, providing your child with clear uncorrected vision throughout the day.

The effects of ortho-k are reversible if the contact lenses are discontinued.

CooperVision MiSight contact lenses are one day disposable contact lenses that can slow the progression of myopia. Unlike ortho-k lenses, MiSight lenses are worn during the day, providing your child with clear vision.

If you are curious about myopia control, please speak to your optometrist during your next appointment.

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