Signs like your child squinting at the whiteboard or moving closer to their tablet screen are small changes that can signal worsening nearsightedness. Without intervention, myopia often continues to progress throughout childhood, even if they keep wearing glasses. Instead of letting it worsen, we offer specialized contact lenses to protect your child’s vision for the future.
MiSight contact lenses use dual-focus technology to slow down myopia progression while providing clear vision for your child’s daily activities. These specialized lenses complement a comprehensive myopia management plan to support your child’s vision development.
What Are MiSight Contact Lenses?
MiSight lenses are soft daily contact lenses created specifically for children with myopia. You throw away each pair at the end of the day, so your child gets fresh, sterile lenses every morning.
The dual-focus design creates 2 different optical zones in each lens. The center zone corrects your child’s vision for clear distance sight, while concentric rings around the edges manage how light focuses on the peripheral retina. This unique pattern signals the eye to slow excessive growth, helping prevent myopia from worsening.
When your child’s eye grows too long from front to back, distant objects focus in front of the retina instead of directly on it. This causes blurry distance vision, commonly known as nearsightedness.
MiSight lenses create specific focus patterns on the peripheral retina that naturally trigger the eye to slow its growth. This happens automatically as your child goes about their typical day, whether they’re reading, playing sports, or using screens.
Signs Your Child May Benefit From MiSight Lenses
Some ways you can tell if your child’s myopia is worsening include:
- Frequent prescription changes during eye exams
- Squinting when looking at distant objects
- Complaints about blurry vision at school
- Moving closer to screens or books to see clearly
- Family history of nearsightedness
MiSight lenses are most effective when started between ages 8 and 12, though many children can benefit from treatment into their teens. Starting early treatment can help slow myopia progression more effectively.
Active children who play sports or spend time outdoors often adapt well to daily contact lenses. They don’t have to worry about glasses sliding down during soccer practice or fogging up when they come inside from cold weather.
Benefits of MiSight Lenses
MiSight lenses can slow myopia progression by an average of 59% compared to regular single-vision lenses. This means your child’s prescription changes much more slowly over time.
Slowing myopia progression can reduce your child’s risk of developing serious eye conditions later in life, including retinal detachment, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. Lower prescriptions also mean thinner, lighter glasses when they choose to wear them as adults.
Contact lenses also offer many benefits of their own. Your child can participate fully in sports without worrying about broken or lost glasses. Soccer, basketball, and playground activities become easier when they can see clearly without frames on their face.
By wearing fresh lenses each morning, you don’t have to worry about the hassle of cleaning solutions or storage cases. Your child opens a new package, inserts their lenses, and discards them at bedtime, creating a simple, hygienic routine.
What to Expect During a MiSight Fitting
Your optometrist will begin by measuring your child’s current prescription and check how their eyes focus at different distances. We also examine the shape and health of your child’s eyes to determine if contact lenses are appropriate during a comprehensive children’s eye exam.
We’ll discuss your child’s daily activities, sports participation, and comfort level with the idea of wearing contact lenses. This helps us determine if MiSight lenses fit your family’s lifestyle and goals.
If we decide to proceed with MiSight lenses, your child will learn how to insert and remove their contacts. We’ll teach proper handwashing techniques and help establish a daily routine that fits your family’s schedule. Most children pick up these skills quickly, though some need a few practice sessions to feel comfortable.
What Happens After Getting MiSight Lenses?
Your child typically wears the lenses for a few hours on the first day, gradually building up to full-day wear over about a week.
Through regular appointments, we can track how your child’s myopia progresses while wearing MiSight lenses. Your optometrist can compare these changes to expected progression rates without treatment.
These check-ups also allow us to monitor your child’s eye health and ensure the lenses continue to fit correctly as your child grows. Prescription adjustments happen as needed to maintain clear vision and effective myopia control.
Getting Started with MiSight
Myopia management is a big step in caring for your child’s vision, but an important one. We can evaluate whether MiSight lenses are appropriate for your child’s specific type and degree of myopia. The best way to begin is by asking, as we’re here to answer all your questions!
Cowichan Eyecare provides comprehensive myopia management services throughout the region. Contact one of our Vancouver Island locations today to schedule a consultation and learn how MiSight lenses can help protect your child’s long-term vision.
