Controlling the Future of Myopia
Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a condition that affects both children and adults. Since myopia is a progressive condition, kids with nearsightedness often experience worsening eyesight each year. Myopia control allows us to successfully slow its progression.
Controlling myopia progression is also important for eye health. The higher the prescription, the higher the risk of developing future complications like retinal detachment, myopic maculopathy, and cataracts. By slowing this progression and helping the eye stabilize at a lower prescription, we can help reduce your child’s risk of future vision-threatening conditions.
If your child is nearsighted, book an appointment with us to discuss our myopia control programs to support their visual health.
What Is Myopia?
Myopia is a vision problem that causes distant objects to appear blurry. This condition is caused by an elongated eyeball or steep cornea, focusing vision in front of the retina rather than directly on it, which is necessary for clear vision. It is extremely common and is only becoming more prevalent in school-aged children.
By 2050, myopia is expected to affect 50% of the world’s population. This increasing prevalence threatens not only clear eyesight, but also future eye health and vision altogether. Myopia control can help protect your child’s vision for the future.
Signs Your Child May Have Myopia
Myopia can develop slowly, and children may not always realize their vision is changing. Common signs include:
- Squinting to see distant objects
- Sitting too close to screens or the television
- Difficulty seeing the board at school
- Frequent headaches or eye strain
- Rubbing the eyes often
- Complaints of blurry distance vision
If you notice these signs, we recommend bringing your child in for a comprehensive eye exam.
Risk Factors for Myopia
Several key risk factors contribute to how quickly myopia develops and progresses in children, such as:
- Genetics: Having one or both parents with nearsightedness increases a child’s likelihood of developing myopia.
- Lack of outdoor time: Spending limited time outdoors in natural daylight is strongly linked to higher rates of myopia progression.
- Prolonged near work: Extended periods spent reading, studying, or viewing digital screens without taking visual breaks strain the eye’s focusing system.
Our Myopia Control Methods
Controlling myopia could change the future of the condition. Proper myopia control has been proven to slow the progression by half or more.
In addition to using specialized eyewear and eye drops, reducing your child’s screen time and balancing near work with outdoor time can help reduce the onset or progression of nearsightedness.
Just like any other part of the body, your child’s eyes grow as they get older. In children with myopia, eye growth can be more rapid or continue past the normal growth point compared to children who are not nearsighted. MiSight 1 Day contact lenses help slow down the growth of your child’s eyes, thereby mitigating the progressive nature of myopia.
Contact lens hygiene can often be a concern for children, which is why we offer MiSight daily disposable lenses by CooperVision. These single-use lenses reduce myopia progression by 59% on average, compared to single vision lenses.
Multifocal contact lenses are made with a gradient prescription. When focusing on far-away objects, the vision is corrected to allow clearer vision. Alternatively, the prescription in the area used to focus on objects close-up is less strong, allowing the eyes to use their natural focusing abilities.
Multifocal glasses, typically used for individuals with presbyopia, have also been shown to help slow myopia progression.
These lenses reduce focusing strain during prolonged reading or screen use, providing a reliable alternative for children who are not yet ready for contact lenses.
Low-dose atropine eye drops are prescription drops administered once daily at bedtime to help slow down eye elongation. Unlike higher concentrations, low-dose atropine manages prescription changes with minimal effects on pupil size or near focusing comfort.
Low-dose atropine can be prescribed as a standalone treatment or used in conjunction with optical methods, such as multifocal glasses or contact lenses, for a combined approach.
When Should Children Start Myopia Control?
Myopia control is most effective when it begins early, while a child’s eyes are still growing. If your child is having trouble seeing the board at school, squinting, sitting close to screens, or needing frequent prescription changes, it may be time to book a myopia control consultation.
At Pinehouse Eyecare, our optometrists can assess your child’s vision, review their eye health, and discuss options that may help manage nearsightedness over time. The right approach depends on your child’s age, prescription, lifestyle, and long-term vision needs.
Regular eye exams are also important for monitoring changes in your child’s vision and adjusting their care plan as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Myopia Control
Myopia control involves specialized treatments, such as multifocal contact lenses, multifocal glasses, and prescription eye drops, designed to slow down the progression of nearsightedness in children. These evidence-based strategies help stabilize your child’s prescription at a lower level as their eyes grow.
Slowing myopia progression during childhood helps limit overall prescription changes and lowers the risk of developing sight-threatening conditions, like glaucoma or retinal detachment, later in life. Initiating management early offers the greatest long-term protection for your child’s ocular health.
While genetics play a major role, prolonged screen time and continuous close-up focus can accelerate nearsightedness progression in developing eyes. Balancing device use with daily outdoor play and regular visual breaks helps support healthy visual development.
Myopia control treatments typically continue through adolescence until eye growth slows and prescription changes naturally stabilize, usually around late teens or early adulthood. Your optometrist will regularly monitor your child’s visual changes to determine when it is appropriate to adjust or conclude treatment.
No, myopia control cannot undo existing nearsightedness or reverse the physical lengthening of the eye that has already occurred. Its primary goal is to slow down future prescription changes so your child maintains a lower prescription level than would occur without intervention. That’s why it is important to start myopia control as early as possible.
If your child is nearsighted, squints to see distant objects, or requires stronger glasses prescriptions at each annual appointment, they are likely a candidate for active management. If your child is experiencing vision problems or prescription changes, book a consultation at Pinehouse Eyecare to explore their options.
We provide several customized strategies, including MiSight 1 Day contact lenses, multifocal lenses, and low-dose atropine eye drops tailored to your child’s age and lifestyle. Schedule a children’s eye exam or myopia evaluation with our team today to help protect your child’s sight.
Visit Our Location
We’re located on the corner of Pinehouse Drive and Primrose Drive. Find us just across the street from Umea Vast Park. Free parking is available in front of the clinic.
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Contact Information
- Phone: 306-242-4186
- Fax: 306-242-5586
- Email: pecadmin@yxevision.ca
After Hours Emergencies: 306-371-9911
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