Myopia Control

Commonly known as near-sightedness, myopia is not just simply “I can’t see far away.” A higher myopic prescription is due to the eye growing longer and elongating.

The elongation of the eyes end up stretching the retina thinner which makes it weaker and increases the risk of certain eye diseases. The risk of glaucoma can be increased by 3 times and the risk of a retinal detachment can be increased by as much as 44 times! High prescriptions also mean thick lenses which require expensive thinner and lighter materials whenever new glasses are made throughout the person’s life.

A lot of research has been done on myopia since it has become a lot more common in modern times, especially in developed countries. Although every person is different, the typical pattern for myopia is that it starts around the ages of 8-10 years old and the prescription slowly increases until the person is in their early 20’s. There have been several methods that have been shown to be effective in slowing down this myopia progression so that the prescription does not increase as much and the eyes do not grow as long:

Spending time outdoors: Kids and youths who spend more time playing outdoors have less of an increase in their prescription over time than those who spend most of their time indoors.

Atropine 0.01% drops: These drops may dilate the pupil and give increased difficulty to bring near objects into focus, but it has also been shown to slow down myopia progression. Unfortunately, it is not readily available in Canada and would require to be personally compounded and made by a pharmacist.

Ortho-keratology lenses: These hard contact lenses have existed for decades and are worn overnight to reshape the surface of the eye so that glasses are not needed during the day. It was discovered that this method also slowed down the progression of myopia in kids and youths.

Multi-focal soft contact lenses: The effect of the special custom hard contact lenses has been adapted into a soft daily disposable contact lens form and has been available in Canada since 2018. The MiSight 1 day contact lens from CooperVision slowed down myopia progression by about 60%.

MiyoSmart lenses: Forget about teaching a kid to put in hard or soft contact lenses because the same effect has now been adapted to glasses and available in Canada as of 2020! These MiyoSmart spectacle lenses from Hoya have been shown to also slow down myopia progression by about 60% and are a lot cheaper than fitting a special custom hard contact lens or ordering a year’s worth of daily soft contact lenses.

Eye exams are covered by the BC medical services plan once a year until 19 years old so book your kids’ or teenagers’ eye exam today!