Introduction

As a mother of two boys, I want to shout out to other moms and dads and let them know that nearsightedness in children is becoming more prevalent and that there’s something that you can do for your child today! You may not know what I’m talking about and it’s possible that neither your pediatrician nor your eye doctor have discussed this with you.

Research shows that kids are becoming nearsighted at a younger age and their eyes are getting worse at a faster rate than they used to.¹ Earlier onset and faster progression mean that your child may end up with a higher prescription, thicker glasses or stronger contact lenses and potential vision complications later in life.

Read this article to learn about what the research says, the treatment options and how you can make a difference in your child’s vision today and in the future.

Why haven’t I heard about the different ways to manage my child’s nearsighted vision?

I consider myself a typical mom. I get my information from other moms, read articles, search on google and ask my doctor health questions. I try to do the right thing for my children. As mom of a nearsighted boy, I used to sit on the beach with binoculars, watching my ten-year old son surf, worried that he couldn’t see me on shore and wondering if he could see that big set of waves that were rolling towards him. I didn’t realize how fuzzy his vision was until I was in the optometrist’s office for an annual exam and he had trouble reading the bigger letters on the eye chart that were clear to me. His distance vision wasn’t great and each year it got worse. I didn’t know there was a way to slow down the vision change.

I wasn't alone in not knowing about the treatment options for nearsightedness in kids. I talked to another mom about her nearsighted child and she said, “I’ve been taking my daughter to an optometrist for over 7 years and he has never spoken about or ever mentioned options that did more than correct the vision.”

As more research has taken place and eye doctors are learning about the significant benefits, they are educating patients with nearsighted children about the options. Myopia management, as it’s referred to, has become more widely adopted in the past four years. Eye doctors are now including myopia management options in their pediatric eye exams and pediatricians and ophthalmologists are embracing the concept as well. The efficacy of the treatments are not in question, it’s a matter of finding a doctor who is offering the service to their patients. According to Jobson, 64% of eye care practices are providing myopia management treatment¹, up from almost nothing four years ago.

If had known there was a way to keep my son’s vision from getting worse so fast, I would have done something.

The good news is that now, you have a choice. You can consider options for your child and spread the word about the treatment options to other parents that have nearsighted children.

¹ 2024 Jobson Optical Researh. US online survey.

The options include behavioral changes, pharmacological, and optical treatments. Research conducted over the last ten years shows that it is possible to slow the progression of nearsightedness, resulting in a child needing a lower prescription than they would have had without intervention. Treating the condition of nearsightedness rather than simply correcting the vision is becoming more widespread as optometrists offer myopia management services and more parents spread the word among their friends.

This article focuses specifically on the one soft contact lens that has FDA approval with a specific indication for the treatment of myopia. Recently published data shows that these soft contact lenses slowed myopia progression by 59% and eye growth by 52%.² Here’s what is known about the new contact lens and how your child can benefit from this preventive measure.

Over the past decade, there have been multiple studies on multifocal and dual-focus contact lenses that have shown to slow the rate of progression of myopia compared to spectacles or single vision contact lenses. The reduction in myopia progression ranged from 37% to 57%.^345.  What does that mean?  Ultimately, slower progression results in less dependence on glasses or contact lenses to compensate for increasingly blurred distance vision.

Before 2020 when MiSight 1 day received FDA approval, eye care professionals would recommended multifocal contact lenses or orthokeratology contact lenses to reduce the progression of nearsightedness.  Multifocal contact lenses have been shown in studies to reduce the progression of nearsightedness.⁶ Some multifocal brands that eye doctors were prescribing included Biofinity Multifocal Distance and NaturalVue. These contact lenses are approved in the US for daily wear, but do not have an FDA indication for slowing the progression of myopia. That means that they are safe and effective as contact lenses to correct vision, but the FDA has not approved them for the specific use of slowing myopia progression.

The only lens that has the FDA indication for slowing myopia progression is MiSight® 1day.⁷

When wearing MiSight 1 day contact lenses, your age-appropriate child can experience clear vision, freedom from glasses and continue to enjoy the activities they love.^2,7,8

Sources:

¹ Prevalence of Myopia: Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA et al. Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016; 123:1036-42.

²Chamberlain P, Peixoto-De-Matos SC, Logan NS, Ngo C, Jones D, Young G. A 3-year Randomized Clinical Trial of MiSight Lenses for Myopia Control.Optom Vis Sci. 2019;96(8):556-567.

³ Huang J, Wen D, Wang Q et al. Efficacy Comparison of 16 Interventions for Myopia Control in Children: A Network Meta-analysis. Ophthalmol. 2016;123(4):697-708.

⁴ Holden BA, Sankaridurg P, Lazon de la Jara P, et al. Reduction in the rate of progress of myopia with a contact lens designed to reduce relative peripheral hyperopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2010;51:E-Abstract 2220.

⁵ Walline JJ, Greiner KL, McVey ME, et al. Multifocal contact lens myopia control. Optom Vis Sci 2013;90:1207–1214.

⁶ Walline JJ, Walker MK, Mutti DO, et al. Effect of High Add Power, Medium Add Power, or Single-Vision Contact Lenses on Myopia Progression in Children: The BLINK Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2020;324(6):571–580. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.10834

⁷ Sulley A, et al. Wearer experience and subjective responses with dual focus compared to spherical, single vision soft contact lenses in children during a 3-year clinical trial. Poster presented at AAO 2019, San Francisco, Calif.

⁸ Chamberlain P, et al, Further comparison of myopia progression in new and established myopia control treatment (MiSight® 1 day) groups. Presentation at BCLA 2019, Manchester, England.