Parents always want the best for their children—especially when it comes to their health. If your child struggles with blurry distance vision, you may have recently learned they have myopia (otherwise known as nearsightedness).
Myopia can significantly impact activities and quality of life. However, thanks to advancements in eye care, managing myopia has become more effective and accessible. One potential treatment for myopia is MiSight® 1 day, which are soft contact lenses intended to help slow myopia’s progression in children between the ages of 8 and 12.
What Is Myopia?
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a common vision condition in which distant objects look blurry while closer objects look clear. This happens when the eyeball is longer than normal, or the cornea is too curved, causing light not to focus properly on the retina. The result is seeing a blurry, distant image.
Myopia Causes
Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to myopia. Children with myopic parents are more likely to develop the condition themselves. Doing more near-work activities, such as reading, writing, and prolonged screen time, can also influence the development and progression of myopia.
Myopia Symptoms
It’s not always easy to spot vision problems in children, but common symptoms of myopia in children include:
- Blurry vision when looking at distant objects, like text on a classroom whiteboard or a road sign
- Squinting or frowning to see distant details more clearly
- Sitting closer to the TV or holding devices too close to their face
- Lack of interest in activities that require seeing things at a distance, such as sports
If you’re concerned about your child’s vision, the first step is to book a comprehensive eye exam with an optometrist.
Myopia Treatments
If your child gets diagnosed with myopia, there are several ways to help manage it, including:
- Corrective lenses: Glasses and traditional contact lenses help correct blurry vision but don’t stop myopia from worsening.
- Outdoor time: Studies show that spending at least an hour outdoors every day may help slow the onset of myopia.
- Surgical procedures: LASIK, PRK, and lens implants can serve as alternatives to glasses.
- Options for children: Treatments that can slow myopia progression include peripheral defocus glasses, soft contact lenses, orthokeratology (ortho-k) hard contact lenses, and atropine eye drops.
Early intervention is important because severe myopia can increase the risk of serious eye conditions, such as retinal detachment, glaucoma, and cataracts, which can threaten vision.
About MiSightⓇ 1 day
MiSight® 1 day are daily wear, single-use soft contact lenses that—when compared to a single vision 1-day lens over 3 years—help slow myopia’s progression in children ages 8 to 12. These lenses also improve vision, correcting the blurriness associated with nearsightedness.
MiSight® 1 day benefits from ActivControl® technology, which uses 2 correction zones and 2 treatment zones. The correction zones allow children to enjoy clear vision, while the treatment zones signal the eye to grow slower, which in turn helps slow myopia’s progression.
At the time of this post, MiSight® 1 day is the first and only FDA-approved product that slows myopia progression in children ages 8–12.
MiSightⓇ 1 day Effectiveness
MiSight® 1 day’s effectiveness is backed by scientific studies.
For example, over the first 3 years of a 7-year study, these lenses slowed myopia in children by 59% on average, and 41% experienced no progression. Furthermore, children using MiSight® 1 day in the study experienced, on average, less than -1.00 diopter progression in their myopia over a 6-year period.
Myopia Control for Children
Every child is different and has different vision needs. If you’re interested in MiSight® 1 day, the first step is scheduling a comprehensive eye exam for your child.
Serving the SE Calgary area and offering one of the biggest selections of safety glasses in town, our team at Eyesis Eyecare is ready to support your eye health.
As a practice that aims to be inclusive, we offer comprehensive eye exams for children and those with special needs. Talk to us if you need developmental, behavioural, physical, and sensory accommodations.
Myopia can affect childhood activities like reading, writing, and playing sports, but it doesn’t have to get in the way of your child living their best life. Book an appointment today to learn more about MiSight® 1 day or other myopia control options. We look forward to seeing you soon!
