Myopia Control for Kids | Waterloo | Pierce Family Vision

A Strategy for Long-Term Vision

You do everything possible to protect your children. With myopia control, you have the power to give them more protection against future vision loss.

Myopia control, or myopia management, refers to slowing the progression of nearsightedness using specially designed glasses lenses, contact lenses, or eye drops. It’s a truly incredible advancement in children’s eye care that allows us to lower your child’s risk of eye diseases and conditions later in life and help keep their prescription lower.

Book an eye exam for your child or keep reading to learn more about myopia control.

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What Is Myopia and Why Do We Need to Control It?

Myopia is also known as nearsightedness, which is a common refractive error that causes distant objects to appear blurry. Nearsightedness can be corrected by glasses, contacts, or (for adults) laser vision correction.

However, the higher a myopic person’s prescription is, the higher their risk for vision loss due to glaucoma, myopic macular degeneration, cataracts, and retinal tears. Even a small prescription carries some risk.Using myopia control, we can slow the progression of nearsightedness that typically happens as the child grows. We aim to significantly lower their risk of vision loss by working to limit the progression of their myopia.

Diagnosing Myopia

Our optometrists can easily diagnose myopia in your child’s eye exam during a visual acuity test where they’ll read an eye chart. If a refractive error is identified, the optometrist will use a phoropter to verify your child’s prescription. A phoropter is the equipment we’re using when we ask, “what’s better, 1 or 2?”

We also use our MYAH imaging device to measure the axial length of your child’s eye, which corresponds with a growth chart that predicts the axial length of your child’s eye in the future to help us plan our myopia management strategy.

How We Manage Myopia

We have a few different myopia control options for your child. The best method will generally depend on your child’s development and age. We’ll always discuss the options in detail with you.

All these myopia management methods aim to slow the excessive lengthening of the child’s eyes that leads to worse vision.

Essilor Stellest Eyeglasses

To your child, it’s just like wearing normal glasses, but Stellest myopia control lenses from Essilor use H.A.L.T. technology to slow the progression of myopia.

A 2-year clinical study showed the lenses slowed myopia progression by 67% on average, compared to traditional single-vision lenses when worn 12 hours a day.

Hoya MiyoSmart Eyeglasses

Glasses with Hoya MiyoSmart lenses correct your child’s vision while slowing the progression of myopia with D.I.M.S. technology.

A 2-year trial with MiyoSmart found participants’ myopia was slowed by 60% on average.

CooperVision MiSight Daily Contacts

With CooperVision MiSight 1 day, a 3-year clinical trial found the rate of myopia progression was reduced by 59% on average compared to typical single-vision daily contacts.

Daily contacts can be great for children who can learn to insert and remove the lenses hygienically. Since the lenses are disposed of daily, the child doesn’t need to worry about cleaning them between wears.

Atropine Eye Drops

Atropine is the same medication we sometimes use to dilate the eyes in an exam so we can better view the retina. In very low doses, it can be an effective myopia control method for many patients with minimal side effects.

Side effects are typically minor and might include sensitivity to light and blurred vision, so we generally advise using the drops before bedtime.

Here for Your Children

We take the long-term view when it comes to caring for your children’s eyes. If you ever have questions about your child’s vision, please don’t hesitate to call us or book them an appointment online. Early intervention is key to protecting their vision.

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Come Visit Us

Our optometry clinic, located in Waterloo, welcomes patients from all surrounding areas, including Kitchener and Cambridge. We’re across Erb Street from the Waterloo Rec Complex and the new Delta Hotel and Barrel Yards under construction.