August 17, 2022

Myopia is an eye condition that causes blurry vision when focusing on distant objects. It usually starts in childhood and progresses until vision stabilizes in early adulthood. The goal is to prevent or limit childhood myopia progression since it can lead to other vision complications.

There are various ways eye doctors try to reverse myopia progression. One of these is by using contact lenses. Different contact lenses have different method of actions when dealing with myopia. However, the fundamental principle is to reverse the condition. One of these contact lenses is the MiSight® contact lens.

What Are MiSight Contact Lenses?

These lenses are from the CooperVision Company. Research shows that MiSight contact lenses can reduce the progression of myopia in children and teenagers by 59 percent. This means if a child’s diagnosis was predicted to be at -8.00 diopters, with the use of MiSight contact program they will only get to around -3.50.  

How Do They Work?

Myopia develops when the eyeball lengthens or “grows long” and exceeds the usual range. It happens under the surface and the symptoms are blurry vision. It causes the curve of the cornea to steepen, affecting how light hits the retina and objects at a distance look. Therefore, a solution that slows down or stops eyeball lengthening is needed to slow down progressive myopia. The only lens FDA approved for myopia control is MiSight.

MiSight contact lenses provide for both. They have two parts. One works like the regular prescription contact lenses and provides clarity of vision. They correct the refractive error in your child’s eyes, allowing them to see objects at a distance.

The other part uses ActivControl™ technology that applies treatment to prevent the eyeball from elongating. The two alternating treatment zones provide a retinal defocus that slows down myopia progression.

Who Are the Best Candidates?

Children and teenagers are the best candidates since their eyes are still developing—hence, their condition is still unstable. 50% of teenagers already have myopia. Early treatment is the key to long term success. Other treatment factors and benefits:

Age: The treatment is approved for children ages 8 to 12 years old.

Refraction: The best results are those whose refraction rate falls between the -0.75 and -4.00 bracket. The treatment lowers their risk of developing eye conditions like retinal detachment.

Other Contacts Have Failed: MiSight shows success in dealing with such cases. They take less time to adapt to the contact lens and most find them more comfortable. The lenses are also for daily wear, so the assurance if a child loses their contact, they will not skip a day of treatment, because of easily having back up lenses.

In this world of increasing visual stress, parents aren’t doing anything wrong, but we can counteract the effects of Myopia. The earlier the program starts the greater long-term effect is found to have on the child’s vision.  

For more information on reversing myopia progression using MiSight contacts, call East Main Vision Clinic in Puyallup at (253) 780-0700 to discuss any questions or to schedule an appointment.