As an eye care specialist and father of two girls who wear glasses, parents have been asking me for years...
Is there anything to slow the increasing thickness of my [son/daughter]'s glasses?

Although there have been ongoing myopia (nearsightedness) control studies for years, I never felt confident enough to recommend a solution... until now.  Myopia control treatments are now backed with great science and research.

If you have a child 6-16 years old who is currently nearsighted and you would like to do everything to slow the progression - that you yourself may have experienced in your own teens - there are clear, science-backed myopia management options that can help.

Individual details would need to be discussed in clinic but Vision Source London is primarily using a multifocal soft contact lens protocol.   This protocol has variable nearsighted control results (25% to 75% reduction) and there is an excellent calculator on the Brien Holden Vision Institute website.  On this site you can plug in your own child's information to see their likely progression model.  A secondary option for many children is daily eye drops (Atropine 0.01%).   This protocol has also been shown to effectively reduce progression.

Beyond function, limiting your child's nearsightedness progression reduces future risk of sight-threatening conditions such as: myopic degeneration, retinal detachment, cataract and glaucoma.

Example:

The example below is an 11 year-old child with a -1.00D prescription.  Nearsighted prescriptions in teens inevitably increase when left unchecked.  The science-backed estimate of this child's prescription at 17 years would be just under -4.00D.  In the real world, 4 units of nearsightedness means that everything beyond 25cm is blurry and therefore full-time wear of glasses would be required i.e. reading and distance.   However with myopia control intervention, the evidence points to a possible 49% reduction in myopia.   At -2.50D, this 17 year old would not need glasses for reading or near tasks.   This is a massive difference for a lifetime of glasses need and ocular health risk.




Costs:

Note that these services / contact lens services are not covered under OHIP and there will be charges over and above what is covered by Ontario Health Card.

Pricing is variable depending on the protocol and/or contact lenses required.   If contact lenses are used, all appointments and contact lenses required would be approximately $400 every 6 months.  If daily eye drops are used, costs are approximately $400 annually.

Minimum appointment fees for myopia control discussion, trial contact lenses and insertion/removal teaching session is $100.


Please call us (519-681-3670) or click chat box below to schedule an appointment to discuss myopia control options for your son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter!