It's becoming more common for parents to hear the same thing at every eye exam: "Your child's prescription has gotten stronger." While a new pair of glasses restores clear vision, it doesn't slow the progression of myopia.
We are skilled in myopia management at O'Fallon Family Eyecare. We work with families throughout O'Fallon, Cottleville, St. Charles, Lake St. Louis, and the surrounding communities.
Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a common vision condition that causes distant objects to appear blurry while nearby objects remain clear. It develops when the eye grows too long from front to back, causing light to focus in front of the retina instead of directly on it.
For many children, myopia begins during the elementary school years and continues to progress as they grow. While glasses or contact lenses provide clear vision, they don't change the growth of the eye itself. That's where myopia management comes in.
Children don't always realize their vision is changing, so it's often parents or teachers who notice the first signs. It may be time to schedule an eye exam if your child is:
Many parents assume stronger glasses are simply part of growing up. While updating a prescription helps your child see clearly, it doesn't address the underlying progression of myopia.
Higher levels of myopia are associated with an increased lifetime risk of developing eye conditions such as retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataracts, and myopic macular degeneration. Myopia management focuses on slowing that progression, helping protect your child's vision now and in the future.
Every child's eyes develop differently, which is why there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to myopia management. During your child's eye exam, we'll evaluate their prescription, eye health, age, lifestyle, family history, and how quickly their myopia is progressing before recommending a treatment plan.
Depending on your child's needs, their personalized plan may include one or a combination of the following treatment options:
Low-dose atropine eye drops have been shown to help slow the progression of myopia in many children. Used once each day, this treatment is often recommended for children whose prescriptions are changing quickly.
MiSight® 1-day contact lenses are specially designed to correct nearsightedness while helping slow the progression of myopia in age-appropriate children. They offer an excellent option for many active kids who are ready for contact lenses.
Orthokeratology, also called ortho-k, uses specially designed contact lenses worn overnight to gently reshape the surface of the eye while your child sleeps. During the day, they can enjoy clear vision without glasses or contact lenses while also benefiting from a treatment that's designed to help slow myopia progression.
For children who prefer wearing eyeglasses, Essilor® Stellest® lenses offer an advanced way to manage myopia. Unlike traditional single-vision glasses, Stellest® lenses are specially designed to help slow the progression of childhood myopia using innovative lens technology backed by clinical research.
Every child is different, and their myopia management plan should be too. Rather than recommending the same treatment for every patient, we take the time to understand how your child's eyes are developing before creating a plan.
We start with a comprehensive eye exam to understand your child's current prescription, overall eye health, and risk for myopia progression. We'll explain what we're seeing and establish a baseline.
Once we've completed the evaluation, we'll recommend the treatment options that best fit your child's age, level of myopia, lifestyle, and daily routine.
Myopia management isn't a one-time treatment. Regular follow-up visits allow us to monitor prescription changes, measure how your child's eyes are growing, and make adjustments as needed.
One of the biggest advances in myopia management isn't a treatment; it's how we measure it. Our O'Fallon eye doctors use the Topcon MYAH to measure axial length, or the physical length of your child's eye. This allows us to track eye growth and compare those measurements to age-based growth charts.
Think of it like your child's annual visit to the pediatrician. Just as height and weight are tracked over time, we track how your child's eyes are growing. This helps us:
If your child has been diagnosed with myopia or you've noticed they need stronger glasses every year, now is a great time to learn more about myopia management. Schedule an appointment with O'Fallon Family Eyecare to find out whether your child may benefit from a personalized myopia management plan.