Myopia Control | Aurora Eye Care

30% of Canadians Have Myopia

That’s right; researchers believe that myopia (nearsightedness) affects 30% of Canadians. And these numbers are expected to climb even higher.

By 2050, nearly half of the entire world could have myopia.

New research is showing there are ways we can slow down the progression of myopia. At Aurora Eye Care, our optometrists are committed to providing the most advanced, science based treatments. We want to prevent the long term side effects of high myopia for your child and give them the tools for their best vision possible, their whole life through. Book an appointment with our team today.

Book Appointment

Myopia Can Affect Your Child’s Learning

80% of your child’s learning happens visually, but issues like myopia can affect their performance at school, sports, and beyond.

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a refractive error that typically develops in school-age children. It occurs when the eye elongates over time or if the cornea becomes too steep, preventing light from properly focusing on the retina.

Over time, myopia could become high myopia, an issue that significantly increases the risk of developing serious sight-threatening conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and myopic maculopathy. For instance, every 1D increase in myopia increases the risk of myopic maculopathy by 67%. (green link Bullimore, M. A., & Brennan, N. A. (2019). Myopia control: why each diopter matters. Optometry and Vision Science, 96(6), 463-465.)

Managing myopia as early as possible with specialized glasses, contact lenses, atropine eye drops, and vision therapy could help prevent it from becoming high myopia.

Please visit My Kids Vision to learn more and assess your child’s risk factors!

There Are Several Ways to Manage Myopia

Our mission with myopia control is to prevent myopia from developing into high myopia. The earlier we start managing myopia, the better chance of keeping it from causing further complications.

We offer a variety of strategies for controlling myopia development, but the very first step is to have an eye exam. In most cases, our strategies are most effective for controlling myopia in children. However, we can offer adults a number of ways to correct their vision, like glasses, contacts, or even laser eye surgery.

Atropine Eye Drops

Atropine eye drops are a common strategy for myopia control. Studies have shown that low-dose atropine eye drops can help slow the elongation of the eye by ~50%.**

This eye drop is specially formulated by your pharmacist. Diluted percentages of 0.05%, 0.025% and 0.01% are commonly used. The treatment is determined to be safe and the main side effects are light sensitivity due to large pupils and near blur. Your optometrist will help to find the right strength for your child to maximize myopia control while monitoring their visual function very closely. This treatment is often paired with anti-fatigue lenses with photochromic tints to compensate for any negative side effects of the medication.

MiSight 1 Day Contact Lenses

MiSight 1 Day contact lenses use ActivControl Technology to create zones of myopic defocus. Myopic defocusing changes how light focuses on the retina and, in turn, sends signals to the eye that slow down elongation. Studies show MiSight Contact Lenses slow progression by an average of 59%

Eyeglass Lenses

Eyeglass lenses use zones of peripheral defocus to help slow down myopia progression. Peripheral defocus makes your child’s peripheral vision blurry but corrects their central vision so they can see distances more clearly.

MiYOSMART

This breakthrough lens technology is shown to reduce progression of myopia by up to 62%. This lens design uses patented D.I.M.S (Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments) technology. These fit just like regular single vision lenses with slightly more adaptation time.

How Can Vision Therapy Help?

In some cases, visual skills problems can contribute to worsening myopia. If there is dysfunction in the eye teaming system, or focusing system we can use vision therapy to treat these issues and subsequently reduce myopia progression.

A custom vision therapy program can help train these skills. If you notice your child displaying the following symptoms, contact our team to see how vision therapy can help them:

Difficulty reading
Frequent headaches
Eye strain
Concentration difficulties
Double vision
Avoiding school work
Head tilting
Sitting close to screens and books

Myopia Control Pros and Cons

Note: Each method needs to be worn for 10 hours per day, 6 days a week for effective myopia
control

Treatment	Pros	Cons
Miyo Smart	~60% reduction in progression	Costly compared to regular glasses
	Easy, same modality, glasses	Mild Adaptation
	Great control, well supported in research,	Not convenient for sports or water activities
	Non-invasive
	Easiest for young patients
MiSight CL	~59% reduction in progression	Slightly increased risk of eye infection compared to glasses
	Reduced reliance on glasses	More maturity and monitoring needed compared to glasses (daily insertion and removal)
	Great for sports, wider field of vision	Still need regular glasses for backup
	No CL solution needed, throw out or recycle after 1 use
Atropine Drops	~33-64% reduction in progression	Side effects of near blur and light sensitivity can be difficult at school
	Easy addition to current modality of SV glasses	Using drops daily can be difficult
	Often covered by pharmaceutical benefits	Has to be compounded at the pharmacy
		Drops Expire After 1 Month
		Will still require regular glasses
		Drop effectiveness varies depending on the concentration of drop used. Higher concentrations work better but cause worse symptoms.

What to Expect during Your Myopia Management Assessment:

The fee for the initial Myopia Management Assessment is $275. After the first year, a global fee is charged annually while in the Myopia Management Program. This fee will cover all of the appointments needed over the course of the year to assess myopia progression.

The following testing is performed during your visit:

Axial Length Measurement:

Included with this exam is a baseline measure of your axial length, which is the length of the eyeball. This measurement is the gold standard in managing myopia. This allows us to closely monitor any future change in the length of your eye in addition to prescription changes. Growth of the eye is expected in adolescence, but growth that is too fast results in stretching of the retinal tissue and rapid prescription change.

Binocular Vision Status

Certain visual dysfunctions within the focusing and eye teaming systems can contribute to myopic progression. We will test for those conditions during this assessment. If a dysfunction is found that may be contributing to a continual change in prescription, we can consider vision therapy to address the issue. (green link to VT website)

Cycloplegic Refraction

We will measure your prescription both with and without dilating drops, to rule out pseudomyopia and get the most accurate prescription we can. Pseudomyopia is a condition where your focusing system over works or spasms, and creates artificially higher myopia.

These drops cause light sensitivity and blurred near vision for up to 18 hours. Sunglasses are recommended for after the appointment.

Pachymetry (Corneal thickness)

The cornea is the clear, front surface of the eye. This is an important measurement to determine the structural strength of the eye.

Corneal Topography

The topographer gives us detailed information about the shape and contour of the cornea. This is an important measurement when we consider the final prescription as well as the possibility of contact lens wear.

After we have gathered all the necessary data you will have dedicated time with the optometrist to discuss all findings and treatment options. We will determine a plan that will optimize myopia control and that is customized to fit your visual needs and lifestyle.

Plan to be at the office for approximately 1.5-2 hours.

Please get in touch with Aurora Eye Care today to see how our team can help manage your child’s myopia development.

Contact Us to Book an Appointment

We want to provide you and your family with access to the tools available to slow down myopia progression. After your regular, yearly eye exam, we will see you for a Myopia Management Assessment.

This appointment will involve a series of tests that provide us with structural and functional measurements. For more information on what to expect in a myopia control workup click here.