Myopia Control
The Eye and Vision Center offers a number of treatments to help slow the progression of myopia. Candidates for myopia control includes children and young adults who:
- Had an onset of myopia younger than the age of 10.
- Have a family history of myopia (parents of siblings).
- Have had an increase in myopia greater than one diopter or more per year.
Atropine is an eye drop that is typically used to dilate (open) the pupil (black part in the center of your eye) and relax accommodation (the focusing mechanism of the eye), which causes blurry vision at near. When used in low concentrations (0.01%), atropine has been shown to slow the progression of myopia (nearsightedness). When using 1 drop a day of atropine, in low concentrations, the side effects of atropine are minimal with little to no dilation of the pupil or blur at near.
Orthokeratology involves the use of specialty-designed, hard contact lenses. These contact lenses are worn during sleep at night and removed upon awakening. The lenses temporary change the shape of the cornea and therefore temporally correct nearsightedness. Typically, you will be able to see clearly throughout the day without the use of glasses or contact lenses.
Multifocal soft contact lenses have two powers in them that were originally designed to help correct for both far and near vision in adults. It is now shown to be an effective tool in controlling the progression of myopia. The contact lens is worn throughout the day and removed at night.