Myopia, or short-sightedness, is becoming increasingly common among children worldwide, often starting at a young age and worsening over time. Myopia control lenses are specially designed to slow down this progression, helping protect your child’s vision and reduce the risks of serious eye conditions later in life.
Unlike regular glasses that simply correct blurry vision, myopia control lenses use specially designed optics to manage how light focuses on the eye. They are designed to help slow myopia progression in children while maintaining clear, comfortable vision for everyday activities.
By slowing the progression of myopia, these lenses may also help reduce the long-term eye health risks associated with high myopia. With different lens designs available, the most suitable option can be selected based on your child’s vision needs, lifestyle, and comfort.
Because myopia (especially in children) is linked with elongation of the eyeball, which causes long-term risks (retinal detachment, glaucoma, etc.), slowing that elongation is a clinical goal. These designs, when properly fitted and worn regularly, have shown meaningful slowing of myopia progression (both in prescription and axial length) in studies.
These lenses combine a clear central vision zone with specially designed treatment zones surrounding it. The treatment zones use small segments, highly aspherical lenslets, or annular optical elements to create controlled myopic defocus in front of the retina, while the child's prescription continues to provide clear vision. This simultaneous combination of clear vision and myopic defocus is designed to provide an optical signal that helps slow excessive axial elongation and myopia progression.
These lenses provide clear central vision while gradually modifying the optical power toward the peripheral areas of the lens. The peripheral zones are designed to shift peripheral light forward, helping reduce unwanted hyperopic defocus behind the peripheral retina. By creating a more favourable peripheral focus while maintaining a clear central prescription, the design aims to reduce visual signals associated with excessive eye elongation.
Progressive Addition Lenses, or PALs, gradually increase plus power from the distance zone at the top of the lens toward the near zone below. The additional near power reduces the amount of focusing effort, or accommodation, required during reading and other close-up activities. This may help reduce accommodative lag and near-related hyperopic defocus, factors that have been investigated in relation to myopia progression.
Myopic Defocus
Peripheral Defocus
Progressive Addition (PAL)
These lenses embed small “lenslets” or micro-cylindrical / annular “treatment zones” around a clear central zone. These zones focus some light in front of the retina (myopic defocus) while maintaining clear central distance vision. The idea: by having that myopic defocus in peripheral vision, the eye receives signals to slow its growth (axial elongation).
Examples:
Rather than distinct lenslets (mini lenses), these designs alter the periphery of the lens in other ways:
Each lens design makes trade-offs among comfort, clarity, and the amount / strength of defocus. Key design parameters include:
Simultaneous Myopic Defocus Lenslets
Peripheral Aspheric / Diffusion Designs
Trade-offs & Adaptation Zones
Myopia control lenses are recommended for children whose myopia is progressing year after year, especially if there is a family history of high myopia. They are ideal for young wearers who spend long hours on near tasks like reading, homework, or screen use.
At Eye & Glasses, our optometrists provide a full myopia assessment and will recommend the most suitable control lens based on your child’s eye health, lifestyle, and needs. Early intervention makes all the difference. Book a consultation today and take the first step toward safeguarding your child’s vision for life.
