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Myopia Control Services

Myopia, commonly known as short-sightedness, affects the ability to see distant objects clearly without glasses or contact lenses. Historically, single-vision lenses were used to correct myopia, but they didn’t address its progression.

Studies show the global prevalence of myopia is increasing at an alarming rate, with predictions that by 2050, half the world’s population will be myopic. Lifestyle changes, such as increased use of smartphones, tablets, and computers, combined with reduced outdoor activity, are believed to contribute to this rise.

At Bayside Eyecare, we provide effective myopia control treatments to slow its progression and safeguard long-term vision, especially for children and young adults.

Treatment Options

• Orthokeratology (Ortho-K):
  Ortho-K involves wearing specially designed contact lenses overnight to reshape the cornea, allowing clear vision during the day without lenses or glasses. It’s safe, effective, and particularly beneficial for active children.
• Atropine Eye Drops:
  These low-dose drops are a proven method to slow the progression of myopia, especially in children. They are easy to use and show significant results over time.
• Myopia Control Contact Lenses:
  Specialised contact lenses help correct vision and slow myopia progression. They are ideal for children and teenagers needing both correction and long-term management.

Benefits of Myopia Control

Managing myopia is about more than just clear vision—it’s about protecting long-term eye health and enhancing daily life. Here are some key benefits of seeking myopia control treatment:

1. Slows the Progression of Myopia

• Myopia tends to worsen with age, especially in children and teenagers. Without intervention, this progression can lead to high myopia, which increases the risk of severe eye conditions like:
  • Retinal detachment
  • Glaucoma
  • Cataracts
  • Macular degeneration
• By starting treatment early, you can significantly reduce these risks and preserve eye health for years to come.

2. Improves Quality of Life

• Clearer vision allows children to focus better in school, participate confidently in sports, and enjoy everyday activities without the constant need for glasses.
• For adults, myopia control treatments offer convenience and freedom, especially with options like Ortho-K, which can eliminate the need for daytime lenses.

3. Safe and Non-Invasive Options

• Myopia control treatments, such as Ortho-K lenses, atropine eye drops, and myopia control contact lenses, are safe and well-studied methods tailored for children, teenagers, and adults.
• These non-surgical options are designed to be comfortable, effective, and easy to incorporate into daily routines.

4. Long-Term Vision Preservation

• Reducing the progression of myopia today means healthier eyes in the future. Lower levels of myopia translate to better vision stability and fewer complications as you age.

• Why do we want to prevent children from becoming myopic?

  Being myopic is not just about the inconvenience of wearing glasses or contacts. People who are myopic have an increased risk of certain eye diseases. These include myopic macular degeneration, glaucoma and retinal detachment. The more severe the myopia is, the higher the risk of eye disease.

• What myopia control treatment options are available

  Many studies have been conducted to investigate what’s the best way to slow down myopia. Current options include myopia control spectacle lenses, myopia control contact lens options and atropine eye drops.

  Our Optometrist can discuss these with you at the time of your consultation and help you select the best option for your child.  Myopia control doesn’t mean that we can stop myopia progressing altogether.  The aim of myopia control is to slow it down. The result of successful myopia control should be that your child is less shortsighted by the end of their teenage years than if we had not used myopia control measures.

• Myopia control contact lens options

  Clinical studies have shown that use of myopia control contact lenses is one of the most successful ways to slow myopic progression in children. Soft disposable contact lenses and Orthokeratology contact lenses are the two alternative myopia control solutions.

  Soft disposable myopia control contacts are worn during the day. The process involved in fitting myopia control disposable contact lenses is the same as that for a normal soft contact lens. Patients are fitted and taught to insert, remove and care for the contact lenses. They are then reviewed 1-2 weeks later and every 6 months thereafter.

  Alternatively, orthokeratology or Ortho-K lenses are prescribed to be worn overnight to gently reshape the corneal surface.

  Ortho-K is a non-surgical, reversible procedure that uses custom-made contact lenses to gradually reshape the front surface of the cornea to provide clearer vision. These lenses are worn overnight whilst sleeping. Removal of the lenses in the morning provides clear-vision for the rest of the day. Improvement in vision commences within a day and stabilises after about a week of Ortho-K wear. The changes to the corneal surface aren’t permanent and are reliant on regular overnight wear. The eyes will resume their former state in up to 4 weeks if lens wear is discontinued.

  Custom fitting of Ortho-K lenses is complex and requires an initial assessment including topography to determine patient eligibility. Lenses are then fitted with patients being reviewed after overnight wear, after a week of wear and 3-4 weeks later. Once the corneal surface is stabilised visits are scheduled after 3 months and subsequently every 6 months thereafter.

  Orthokeratology is ideal for patients with mild to moderate myopia who need visual correction but are unable to wear contact lenses during the day. Examples include playing contact or water sports or working in dusty/dirty environments which inhibit the use of contact lenses or glasses.
  

• Myopia control atropine drops

  Studies have found that low concentration atropine eye drops are able to retard the progression of myopia. Atropine is a prescription medication. In this instance, as it is being prescribed in low concentration, it will be made up by a compounding pharmacy. Low dose atropine does not typically have the side effects of pupil dilation and reduced focusing when reading that normal 1% strength atropine has.

• Is there anything we can do to prevent our children from becoming myopic?

  We know that genetics play a part in whether a child will become myopic or not but there are also other things we can do to decrease the risk

  1.  Limit screen use- every 20 minutes look away from the screen for a minute or two. Preferably look out a window or a long way off into the distance
  2. Spend 80 minutes per day outdoors- not only does looking around outdoors help keep the focusing muscles of the eyes relaxed, animal studies suggest that certain chemicals that help to slow myopia are released from the retina at the back of the eye when in sunlight
  3. Don’t hold electronic devices too close to the eyes- make a fist, hold it to your nose and place the electronic device at your elbow. This is the optimal viewing distance- any closer and the eyes are working harder than they need to.

Download Myopia Information Brochure

If you are new to Myopia, please download the informational brochures below. It is available in both English and Chinese.

Child Myopia Information Brochure

Chinese Version: Child Myopia Information Brochure

Contact Us

Conveniently located in Brighton, Bayside Eyecare is proud to serve families in Melbourne’s Bayside suburbs.

Take the first step toward managing your child’s myopia. Book a consultation with one of our  optometrists today!