Myopia (or nearsightedness) is a common refractive error. When the eye is too long in proportion to the curve of the cornea (or vice versa) it causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on the retina. As a result, the patient cannot clearly see objects beyond a certain distance.
This eye problem usually develops in childhood and is getting more and more common all the time; more children are developing myopia, and at a younger age than ever before.
Obviously, you want your child to experience the world as fully as possible. So while there is no cure for myopia, there are a few courses of treatment that can slow, or even stop the progression of myopia in your child.
By changing the structuring and focusing power of the eye during a child’s formative years, we can limit the strain that contributes to the progression of myopia. This will not stop your child from requiring correction. It can, however, save your child from requiring very strong correction, and potentially developing other related eye problems later in life.
We recommend special spectacle lenses to control myopia in children. These lenses, developed and created by Zeiss, are called MyoVision lenses. Studies show that children who wore the lenses experienced a 30% reduction in the progression of their myopia. These results are accomplished by correcting the refractive error while also moving the image in the child’s peripheral vision to the front of the retina. This essentially slows down the growth of the eye.
Multifocal lenses have different levels of magnification in different areas of the lens. Multifocal contact lenses work much the same way. Researchers have discovered that a modified version of multifocal contacts can be effective in myopia control.
A 2013 study found that the children who had worn these lenses on a daily basis for 2 years had experienced 50 percent less myopic progression than the children who had been wearing normal contact lenses. By offering the eye different levels of magnification, you decrease strain and therefore decrease the progression of myopia.
We can’t control your child’s myopia if we don’t know about it. Many behavioural and learning problems in children actually stem from vision issues. The best way to catch, treat, and control these issues is through regular eye exams. Book an eye exam for your child today!
We're located on Arlington Drive, just off Woodbine Avenue next to Dominos Pizza
76 Arlington Drive, Unit 17
Keswick, ON L4P 0A9
Monday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Wednesday: 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Thursday: 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
Mondays: 12pm to 1pm
Saturdays: 12pm to 12:30pm
Tuesdays: 11:30am to 1pm (first Tuesday of each month)
