Your Child’s First Myopia Control Visit – What to Expect
If your child’s glasses prescription has been increasing each year, it may be time to consider myopia control. Around 1 in 4 Canadian children are already myopic, and the rate is increasing¹. At Mountain View Optometry, we take a comprehensive and personalized approach to slowing myopia progression and protecting long-term eye health.
Here’s what parents can expect during a dedicated myopia control assessment at our Calgary and Cochrane clinics.
Myopia Consult
1. A Detailed Look at Your Child’s Visual Habits
Your visit starts with a conversation, so we can understand:
- Family history of myopia or other vision disorders
- Daily screen use and reading habits
- Outdoor time
- School workload
- Past prescriptions or treatments
- Health status
This helps us understand the unique risk factors influencing your child’s vision.
2. A Thorough and Comfortable Eye Examination
We perform a thorough evaluation that goes beyond a standard eye exam, including:
- Detailed assessment of focusing and eye teaming ability
- Pupil size and function
- Testing through dilated pupils (to get the most accurate baseline)
- A slit-lamp evaluation of the front of the eye
Our goal is to make the experience easy and reassuring for both you and your child.
3. Eye Length Measurement
One of the most important tools for myopia control is eye length measurement (biometry). This quick and comfortable scan uses light waves to precisely measure axial length of the eye – the main factor determining progression of childhood myopia.
This measurement lets us:
- measure baseline axial eye length
- Track growth of the eyes more reliably than eyeglass prescription alone
- Evaluate treatment effectiveness over time
It’s a key part of today’s evidence-based myopia management.
4. Review of Myopia Control Treatment Options
After gathering all diagnostic data, we walk you through every evidence-based option, including:
- Myopia-control spectacle lenses
- Myopia-control contact lenses
- Low-dose atropine eye drops
- Orthokeratology (a treatment that gently re-shapes the cornea using specialized contact lenses worn overnight)
- A combination of treatments
We take the time to explain how each treatment works, what results you can expect, and which options fit your child’s lifestyle best.
5. A Customized Myopia Management Plan
No two children are alike, and neither are their eyes.
We create a personalized plan that considers:
- Lifestyle
- Visual demands
- Rate of progression
- The presence of eye teaming and/or focusing challenges
- Comfort and safety
- Your family’s goals
Follow-up visits are typically scheduled every 6 months to ensure treatment is effective, and progression is slowing as expected.
Why Myopia Control Matters
High levels of myopia may mean stronger glasses, but more importantly it increases long-term eye health risks like retinal detachment , glaucoma, and myopic maculopathy. By slowing progression during early years, we can help protect your child’s eyesight for the future.
At Mountain View Optometry, an important part of our mission is to protect and enhance vision with evidence-based care. Myopia is a condition that can be managed if caught early. Book your child’s myopia consult today.
References: 1. https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/myopia-children-shortsightedness-prevalence-outdoor-indoor-1.7399141
Written by Dr. Tom Wilk
About the Author:
Dr. Tom Wilk sees patients at his Cochrane location primarily. He developed the “Patient First” approach now adopted by all Doctors and staff at Mountain View Optometry. He obtained his Doctor of Optometry (OD) from the Michigan College of Optometry in 1994, and his B.Sc. from the University of Waterloo. A native of Toronto, Ontario, he came to Alberta in 1998, attracted by the opportunity to start an optometry practice in the only province that allowed ODs to practice within the full scope of their training.
