Myopia Control
Help keep your child’s prescription from getting worse with a custom myopia control strategy at Reed Family Vision.
Does your child’s prescription get worse every year?
It’s more than an inconvenience; it’s a serious risk to your child’s eyes and vision. If your child’s prescription for nearsightedness is getting worse all the time your child has a condition called progressive myopia. This condition is much more than just needing stronger and stronger glasses or contacts. Progressive myopia puts your child at risk for several serious vision-threatening eye conditions later in life, including glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal detachment.
The risks to your child’s eyes increase with more advanced myopia progression, the greater the risks associated with your child’s myopia. In fact, recent research is now shows that any amount of myopia is potentially dangerous. Therefore, a custom myopia control strategy is recommended for even low amounts of myopia.
At Reed Family Vision, we specialize in providing Olathe and the greater Kansas City area with custom treatment plans to control the progression of your child’s myopia. Stopping or slowing the progression of myopia greatly reduces the long-term risks to best ensure that your child enjoys seeing the world with healthy eyes throughout his or her adult life.
Learn more about the risks associated with myopia in our FAQs About Myopia
What is Myopia Control?
A number of advanced strategies exist to slow or stop the progression of myopia:
Orthokeratology (OrthoK)
Specialized soft multifocal contact lenses
Atropine eye drops
Each treatment option has its advantages and disadvantages. At Reed Family Vision, Dr. Reed will perform a full assessment of your child’s myopia and will recommend a personalized treatment plan to slow or stop the progression of your child’s myopia.
Controlling myopia progression with OrthoK
Orthokeratology, or OrthoK, is an FDA-approved non-surgical treatment method of vision correction that has been safely used for over 20 years. A rigid gas-permeable retainer contact lens is custom-made for your child’s eyes by our Olathe Myopia Control experts and is worn at night. The lenses gently and painlessly reshape the cornea to correct vision during the day without glasses or contact lenses. The effects are non-permanent and reversible.
This particular method of corneal reshaping focuses light in such a way as to reduce the stimulus for your child’s eyes to grow longer, slowing the progression of myopia. Research indicates OrthoK is the most effective method of controlling myopia progression.
Controlling myopia progression with multifocal soft contact lenses
Recent advances in soft contact lens technology allow for distinct prescriptions for distance and near vision in the same contact lens, called multifocal lenses. Certain multifocal lenses mimic the way light is focused by OrthoK corneal reshaping, slowing the progression of myopia.
Research indicates multifocal soft contact lenses are not as effective at controlling myopia progression as OrthoK, but some patients prefer the experience of wearing a soft contact lens during the day to wearing a custom rigid gas-permeable OrthoK retainer contact lens.
Controlling myopia progression with atropine therapy
Atropine is a medicated eye drop which has been used in diagnosing and treating eye conditions for decades. In low concentrations, atropine is effective at slowing myopia progression with minimal side effects. Though not as effective at controlling myopia progression as OrthoK, atropine is an ideal choice for children who are too young to begin OrthoK. Some research even shows reduced risk of developing myopia when atropine therapy is initiated before the onset of myopia.
When Should My Child Start Myopia Control?
It’s important to stop or slow myopia progression before your child’s vision or eyes get worse. The stronger your child’s myopia glasses or contact lens prescription, the greater the risk for vision-threatening eye disorders. Therefore, our myopia control experts recommend beginning a custom myopia control strategy as soon as myopia is detected. This is the only way to minimize risks and keep your child from needing a stronger glasses or contact lens prescription every year.
Book a myopia control consultation online or call us at (913)732-2552 today!
Research Links For Myopia Control
High myopia as a risk factor in primary open angle glaucoma
Time outdoors and the prevention of Myopia
Myopia and associated pathological complications
Outdoor Activity during Class Recess Reduces Myopia Onset and Progression in School Children
Orthokeratology to control myopia progression: a meta-analysis
