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Myopia Control

Understanding Myopia in Children

Myopia, commonly known as short-sightedness, occurs when the eye grows too long, causing distant objects to appear blurred whilst near vision remains clear. Children with myopia may squint at the television, struggle to see the classroom board, or complain of headaches after visual tasks. Progressive myopia means the condition worsens as the eye continues elongating during childhood and adolescence. We measure axial length (the distance from front to back of the eye) to monitor growth accurately and assess myopia progression over time.
Protecting Your Child's Vision Future
Protecting Your Child's Vision Future

Protecting Your Child's Vision Future

Childhood myopia is increasing rapidly, with more children becoming short-sighted at younger ages than ever before. Left unmanaged, progressive myopia raises the risk of serious eye conditions later in life, including retinal detachment, glaucoma and macular degeneration. At Vision in the Village, we offer proven myopia control solutions that slow progression significantly, protecting your child’s long-term eye health. Our experienced optometrists provide specialist assessments and ongoing monitoring, giving families access to the latest clinical advances right here in Southfields.

MiSight Daily Contact Lenses

MiSight represents a breakthrough in myopia management for children aged 8 and above. These daily disposable soft lenses correct distance vision whilst simultaneously slowing myopia progression by an average of 59% compared to standard glasses. Clinical trials demonstrate sustained effectiveness over multiple years of wear. Children find MiSight lenses comfortable and straightforward to use, with comprehensive training provided during fitting appointments. The daily replacement schedule ensures excellent hygiene and eliminates cleaning routines, making them ideal for active youngsters.
Athlete running
Athlete running
MyoSmart Spectacle Lenses by Hoya
MyoSmart Spectacle Lenses by Hoya

MyoSmart Spectacle Lenses by Hoya

For families preferring spectacles over contact lenses, MyoSmart offers clinically proven myopia control through innovative lens technology. These specially designed glasses feature D.I.M.S. (Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments) technology, creating a honeycomb pattern of treatment zones that slow eye elongation. Studies show MyoSmart reduces myopia progression by 60% on average whilst providing clear, comfortable vision for everyday activities. The lenses look like regular glasses, allowing children to wear them confidently at school and play without feeling different from their peers.

Mylo Device and Lifestyle Guidance

We also offer comprehensive lifestyle advice alongside optical interventions, recognising that environmental factors significantly influence myopia development. Encouraging outdoor time, managing screen exposure and ensuring proper reading distances all contribute to slowing progression. Our optometrists work closely with families to create realistic, sustainable habits that support your child’s visual development. Regular monitoring appointments track axial length and progression rates, allowing treatment adjustments as your child grows. This holistic approach maximises the effectiveness of whichever myopia control solution we recommend.
Mylo Device and Lifestyle Guidance
Mylo Device and Lifestyle Guidance
Happy child
Happy child

Book Your Child's Myopia Assessment

Early intervention achieves the best outcomes in myopia control. If your child is short-sighted or you have concerns about their vision development, our specialist assessment will determine the most suitable management strategy. Book an Appointment at Vision in the Village to arrange a comprehensive myopia consultation at our Southfields practice. We’ll explain all available options, answer your questions and create a personalised plan to protect your child’s precious sight for decades to come.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Myopia control refers to clinical interventions that slow the progression of short-sightedness in children, protecting their long-term eye health and reducing the risk of serious vision-threatening conditions in adulthood. At Vision in the Village Opticians our optometrists provide specialist myopia management because childhood myopia is not simply an inconvenience requiring stronger glasses each year. Progressive myopia means the eye continues elongating abnormally during childhood and adolescence, and this excessive axial length growth significantly increases the lifetime risk of retinal detachment, glaucoma, myopic macular degeneration, and early cataract development.

Research published in peer-reviewed journals demonstrates that higher levels of myopia correlate directly with greater risk of these sight-threatening complications, with moderate to high myopia substantially increasing the probability of developing conditions that can cause permanent vision loss even with treatment.

Myopia control treatments work by slowing the rate at which the eye elongates, meaning your child reaches adulthood with lower myopia and consequently lower risk of associated complications. Standard single vision glasses or contact lenses simply correct blurred distance vision but do nothing to slow the underlying progression, whereas myopia control interventions like MiSight daily contact lenses and MyoSmart spectacle lenses have been proven in clinical trials to reduce progression by approximately 60% on average. This reduction translates to meaningful clinical benefits over the years of childhood development. For example, a child whose myopia would have progressed to minus 6.00 dioptres without intervention might only reach minus 3.00 dioptres with effective myopia control, substantially lowering their lifetime risk profile.

Early intervention achieves the best outcomes because myopia typically progresses fastest during the early years after onset, so starting treatment when your child first becomes myopic or shows signs of rapid progression maximises the protective effect.

Children most likely to benefit from myopia control include those diagnosed with myopia at young ages (under 10 years), those showing rapid progression (more than 0.50 dioptres increase per year), those with moderate to high myopia already, and children with family history of myopia, particularly if parents have high myopia. Our experienced optometrists conduct comprehensive assessments including axial length measurement, which provides the most accurate method of monitoring eye growth and myopia progression over time, allowing us to track treatment effectiveness objectively.

MiSight daily disposable contact lenses, available at Vision in the Village Opticians for children aged 8 and above, represent the first soft contact lens specifically designed and clinically proven to slow myopia progression whilst simultaneously correcting distance vision. These innovative lenses use ActivControl Technology, which incorporates concentric treatment zones within the lens design. The central optical zone corrects your child’s myopic refractive error, providing clear distance vision for school, sports, and daily activities, exactly like standard contact lenses.

 Surrounding this central zone are alternating concentric rings of correction and treatment zones that create myopic defocus on the peripheral retina. Scientific research has established that peripheral hyperopic defocus (where the image falls behind the peripheral retina) acts as a stimulus for eye elongation, whereas myopic defocus (where the image falls in front of the peripheral retina) signals the eye to slow its growth.

MiSight lenses deliberately create this myopic defocus in the periphery whilst maintaining clear central vision, effectively reducing the stimulus for axial elongation. Clinical trials conducted over multiple years and published in respected optometry journals demonstrate that children wearing MiSight lenses experience an average of 59% reduction in myopia progression and 52% reduction in axial length growth compared to children wearing standard single vision contact lenses. Importantly, this effect is sustained over years of continuous wear, with the treatment remaining effective throughout childhood development.

MiSight lenses are daily disposables, meaning your child wears a fresh sterile lens each day and discards them after use, eliminating cleaning routines and storage concerns. This daily replacement schedule provides excellent hygiene, significantly reducing infection risks compared to monthly lenses, which is particularly important for younger wearers. Children typically find MiSight lenses comfortable and straightforward to use once they complete the initial training. At Vision in the Village, we provide comprehensive fitting appointments where your child learns insertion and removal techniques under supervision, and we ensure they feel completely confident before taking lenses home. Most children aged 8 and above adapt quickly to lens handling, and studies show high levels of satisfaction and successful wear. 

MyoSmart spectacle lenses by Hoya, fitted at Vision in the Village Opticians offer clinically proven myopia control for children through innovative lens technology called D.I.M.S., which stands for Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments. These specialised lenses provide an effective alternative for families who prefer spectacles over contact lenses or for children who are not suitable candidates for contact lens wear.

The lens design features a central optical zone that corrects your child’s myopic prescription, providing clear sharp vision for all everyday activities including school work, reading, and distance viewing. Surrounding this central zone is a treatment area covering the mid-periphery of the lens, containing hundreds of tiny segments arranged in a honeycomb pattern. Each segment has additional positive power that creates myopic defocus simultaneously with the clear corrected image, meaning that whilst your child sees clearly through the central zone, the peripheral retina receives defocused images that signal the eye to slow its elongation. This simultaneous vision approach ensures your child benefits from myopia control throughout all wearing hours without compromising visual clarity or comfort.

The lenses look like regular glasses from the outside, with the honeycomb treatment zones being virtually invisible to observers, allowing children to wear them confidently at school and during activities without feeling different from their peers or attracting unwanted attention. MyoSmart lenses are made from impact-resistant polycarbonate material, making them durable and safe for active children. For optimal effectiveness, your child should wear MyoSmart glasses throughout waking hours, as myopia control benefits are dose-dependent, meaning more wearing time produces better results.

At Vision in the Village, we fit MyoSmart lenses in age-appropriate frames that your child feels comfortable wearing consistently, and we provide guidance on proper wearing schedules. Regular monitoring appointments every six months allow our optometrists to measure axial length growth, assess progression rates, and confirm the treatment is working effectively for your individual child.

Myopia control services with us involve initial assessment costs, ongoing treatment expenses, and regular monitoring appointments, with pricing structured to reflect the specialist clinical expertise, advanced diagnostic equipment, and long-term commitment required for effective myopia management.

The initial myopia control assessment, which includes comprehensive eye examination, detailed discussion of your child’s visual history and family history, axial length measurement using specialized equipment, myopia risk assessment, and consultation about suitable treatment options, typically costs between £80 and £120. This appointment usually takes 60 minutes and provides the foundation for your child’s personalised myopia management plan.

For MiSight daily disposable contact lenses, the initial fitting appointment including lens training, trial lenses, and follow-up visits costs approximately £60 to £100, with the lenses themselves priced at around £65 to £75 per month or £700 to £850 annually depending on your child’s prescription. This annual cost includes daily fresh lenses for continuous wear throughout the year, providing both vision correction and myopia control in a single convenient solution.

Many families find the investment worthwhile considering that MiSight provides proven 59% reduction in progression, potentially saving thousands of pounds in future healthcare costs associated with high myopia complications.

For MyoSmart spectacle lenses by Hoya, the lenses cost approximately £250 to £350 depending on prescription complexity and any additional lens treatments such as anti-reflection coating or photochromic options, fitted into frames that typically range from £50 to £150 depending on style and brand preferences. The total initial cost for MyoSmart glasses is therefore usually between £300 and £500.

Regular monitoring appointments, recommended every six months for all children receiving myopia control treatment, typically cost £50 to £80 and include axial length measurement, progression assessment, eye health checks, and treatment effectiveness evaluation. These appointments are essential for confirming your chosen intervention is working effectively and allowing treatment adjustments if needed. 

Vision in the Village offers flexible payment options and can discuss treatment costs in detail during your child’s assessment, helping you choose the most appropriate and affordable solution for your family circumstances.