Myopia Control | Orchard Park Optometry

A Growing Concern

Your child’s sight is important for their success in life, in sports, in academics—in everything. Clear sight is necessary for speech and language development and allows them to learn effectively.

Children with vision conditions are often misdiagnosed with behavioural problems or learning disabilities when the reality is that they just aren’t seeing clearly enough to take in information.

Fortunately, we can diagnose myopia during a comprehensive eye examination. If we do detect the condition, we can recommend some ways to slow its progression. Our optometrists at Orchard Park Optometry are experienced in methods of myopia control and passionate about helping your child see well, today and in the future.

Book your child’s eye exam today.

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What Is Myopia?

Myopia is also known as nearsightedness. It is a refractive error that causes distant objects to appear blurry while nearer objects remain clear.

The condition is on the rise around the world, and studies show there are no signs of it slowing down. Almost half of the world’s population will have myopia to some degree in the near future. Right now, this vision condition impacts nearly 30% of Canadians.

We can provide glasses and contact lenses to help children see clearly, but it’s also important to slow the progression of myopia. High degrees of myopia are associated with an increased risk of developing more serious eye conditions in the future, including retinal detachment, cataracts, and open-angle glaucoma.

Book your child’s appointment to begin myopia control today!

KidSight by Orchard Park Optometry

We believe that good vision is essential for health and well-being. That’s why we’ve developed KidSight—a program designed with your child’s eyes in mind.

Benefits of KidSight

When you enlist Orchard Park Optometry to help manage your child’s myopia, we’ll be a committed partner in their health and well-being. The benefits to our KidSight program include:

Fitting for specialized contact lenses that slow myopia progression
Training for proper insertion and removal of lenses
Checkups every 4 months
FREE contact lens supply exchanges if the prescription changes
Optomap retinal imaging taken annually or if progression occurs to monitor internal eye health

Our Methods

If we detect that your child has myopia, the best time to intervene is during childhood while the eyes grow and develop. We offer different myopia control methods to suit your family’s needs.

MiSight Contact Lenses

MiSight contact lenses are soft, single-use disposable contact lenses that are proven to slow myopia progression in children by up to 59% compared to traditional glasses and contact lenses.

The lenses use ActivControl optical technology to prevent the eyes from growing longer while providing clear vision at all distances throughout the day. These lenses are easy for kids because they require no cleaning solution, reducing the infection risk from poor hygiene.

Atropine

Atropine is a prescription medication eye drop used once daily in both eyes. It has been shown in multiple studies to reduce myopia progression by up to 50%. It is generally well-tolerated by most children and is an excellent option if MiSight or Ortho-K contact lenses are not an option due to young age, dexterity for inserting/removing lenses, or other personal factors.

Atropine does not correct the vision, so standard glasses or contact lenses still need to be worn during the daytime. Sometimes we combine low-dose atropine therapy with Ortho-K or MiSight contact lenses to increase a patient’s likelihood of better results or if they are at a higher risk of severe myopia progression.

Orthokeratology

Orthokeratology, commonly known as Ortho-K, uses specialty contact lenses worn overnight to reshape the cornea gently. Many studies have shown that kids who wear Ortho-K lenses reduce myopia progression by up to 56%. The result is clear vision throughout the day without needing daytime glasses or contact lens wear.
Corneal topography allows us to create a 3D map of your eye shape to custom-design your lenses. The results are similar to the effects of LASIK but without the permanent alterations from surgery. For this reason, Ortho-K is also becoming a popular option for adults to achieve freedom from daytime vision correction.
MiSight contact lenses are soft, single-use disposable contact lenses that are proven to slow myopia progression in children by up to 59% compared to traditional glasses and contact lenses.