eye care support
Myopia Control
Discover how modern myopia control treatments can slow down your child's prescription changes and protect their long-term vision.
If your child is nearsighted (myopic), distance objects look blurry because their eye is growing a bit too long from front to back. Standard glasses help them see clearly day-to-day, but they don’t stop the eye from continuing to grow.
Myopia control goes a step further. It uses specially designed glasses, contact lenses, or eye drops to actually slow down how fast the eye grows. By keeping their prescription lower during their growing years, it won’t just saving them from thicker lenses – it will better protect their long-term eye health for life.
Managing Myopia
The main goal of myopia control is to keep the eyeball from stretching too long.
One option to help manage myopia is by wearing special lenses. Regular glasses fix vision in the center, but can trick the sides of the eye into growing longer. Myopia control lenses fix vision in the middle while sending a “slow down” signal to the edges of the eye.
For eyes that are changing quickly, another option is to pair special lenses with gentle, low-dose eye drops for extra control.
While daily habits also matter, like getting outside and being exposed to natural sunlight, there are various treatment options available which can significantly slow down myopia progression. Talk to your Da Rin Optometrist today about what solution is best suited to you if you have been diagnosed with myopia.
Treatment Lenses
There are different contact lenses available to help support children.
Specialist lenses available and recommended by Da Rin include:
Essilor® Stellest® lenses: These are specialised spectacle lenses designed to correct nearsightedness in children while slowing down myopia progression.
MiSight® 1 day: These lenses are daily disposable soft contact lenses designed specifically to slow down the progression of nearsightedness (myopia) in children.
Consult your optometrist about the best option for your child as part of their treatment plan.
Low-level Red-light Therapy
This is an emerging treatment designed to slow the progression of childhood myopia, rather than simply correct blurry vision.
Low-level red-light therapy exposes the eyes to a controlled, low-intensity red light for short periods using a purpose-built device.
Like atropine (eye drops), this promising approach for myopia control doesn’t rely on special glasses or contact lenses. It can be used on its own or together with other myopia treatments.
While low-level red-light therapy can be used to treat both adults and children, it is always recommended to discuss what’s best suited for you or your child with your treating Optometrist.
Myopia Control FAQs
Children’s eyes grow right along with the rest of their bodies. Myopia usually starts between ages 6 and 14, which is also when it tends to shoot up the fastest.
Why kids are at higher risk today:
- Family History: If one or both parents wear glasses for distance, kids are more likely to need them, too.
- More Screen & Indoor Time: Spending long hours doing close-up work (pads, phones, books) without enough outdoor playtime can accelerate eye growth.
- Starting Young: The younger a child is when they first need glasses, the faster their prescription tends to climb if left unmanaged.
The length of treatment varies for each child.
Myopia control is usually continued while the eyes are still growing and the myopia is progressing, with regular eye checks to monitor progress and determine when treatment can be adjusted or stopped.
There is currently no cure for myopia, but treatments can help slow its progression.
Regular eye examinations are also important so your optometrist can monitor changes and adjust treatment when needed.
