If your child has myopia (nearsightedness), you’ve probably noticed them squinting more often or holding books closer to their face. However, myopia tends to progress—it typically gets worse each year until your child reaches adulthood.
That’s why, at Stonebridge Eyecare, we provide myopia control services to help slow the condition’s progression and protect your child’s future vision.
Myopia control offers significant benefits by slowing down the progression of myopia, thereby reducing your child’s risk of serious eye diseases later in life and improving their ability to engage with daily activities like school and schoolwork.
How Myopia Control Protects Your Child’s Future Vision
Myopia is becoming a serious public health issue due to its rising prevalence. In Canada, up to 30% of the population is myopic.
Myopia control treatments work by slowing down the rate at which your child’s nearsightedness progresses. This means that, when they reach adulthood, they’ll do so with better vision than they otherwise would have had.
Health Benefits That Go Beyond Better Eyesight
Lower Risk of Serious Eye Conditions
Each diopter of myopia increases your child’s future risk of eye diseases. By keeping their prescription lower with myopia control, you’re providing protection that lasts for a lifetime.
Lower levels of myopia mean:
- Reduced chance of retinal detachment
- Lower risk of glaucoma development
- Decreased likelihood of cataracts
- Protection against macular degeneration
Stronger Eye Structure Over Time
When myopia progresses, your child’s eyeball grows longer than it should. This stretching weakens the retina and other eye structures. Myopia control helps maintain a healthier eye shape by slowing this excessive growth.
Advantages of Myopia Control
Beyond the long-term health benefits, myopia control makes your child’s current life easier and more enjoyable. You’ll likely notice improvements in their confidence and their willingness to participate in activities they love.
Sports & Activities
Myopia controls allows children to participate more freely in physical activities. In addition to getting general vision correction, your child likely won’t need as high of a prescription, and their vision will stay more stable between eye exams.
Safety and sports eyewear options can further protect children’s vision during activities.
When your child’s vision is properly corrected, they’ll squint less in school and their eyes might not get as tired after homework or group and classroom activities.
Following the 20-20-20 rule can also help reduce digital eye strain during study time.
- Improved focus during classroom activities
- Less eye strain during reading
- Better participation in group activities
Your Myopia Control Options in Saskatoon
At Stonebridge Eyecare, we offer three effective methods for myopia control. We’ll work with you to choose an option based on your lifestyle and your child’s preferences.
Low Dose Atropine Eye Drops
These eye drops use a very low concentration of atropine to slow myopia progression. Your child uses one drop in each eye before bedtime, making this option simple to incorporate into your evening routine.
Myopia Control Contact Lenses
MiSight contact lenses are designed to slow myopia progression while providing clear vision. Your child wears them during the day just like regular contacts, but the lenses are designed in a way that controls nearsightedness at the same time.
Myopia Control Glasses
Myopia control glasses are the third option for slowing myopia. These glasses not only correct vision, but they also change the way that light is focused onto your child’s eyes, thereby reducing the stimulus that causes myopia to progress.
Protect Your Child’s Future Vision
If your child is experiencing signs of myopia progression—needing stronger prescriptions each year, squinting more often, or struggling to see clearly at distances—early intervention makes a real difference. The sooner you start myopia control, the more effective it can be at slowing progression and protecting their long-term eye health.
Our team at Stonebridge Eyecare can help you explore myopia control options in Saskatoon. We’ll evaluate your child’s current prescription, discuss their lifestyle and preferences, and recommend the treatment approach that best fits your family’s needs. Whether it’s atropine drops, specialty contact lenses, or myopia control glasses, we’ll guide you through every step of the process.
Contact us today to schedule a comprehensive eye exam and discuss which treatments might work for your family. Together, we can help protect your child’s vision for years to come.
