At this time we have 3 options at our office and all three options cost the same a total of $1500. If we try one and you don’t like it for whatever reason, we can switch to others within 3 months. One is atropine 0.05% which is an eye drop that has been shown to slow down the progression by 40 to 50%. The main theory is it basically weakens the near vision muscle which can spasm multiple times a day naturally which triggers the eye to grow. Children’s near vision is at the strongest around 5 years old and then gradually decreases with time.  Some side effects are light sensitivity and weakening of up-close vision (accommodation). The cost includes glasses (some exceptions do apply) that have the best AR along with photochromic (like transitions) to help with the light sensitivity, atropine, warranty on the glasses, and any changes we need to make to the glasses due to side effects or changes in the prescription within the year. We normally see you back at 1 week, 3 months and then 6 months also covered.

        The next option is the treatment with a daily soft lens we typically use Naturalvue due to the study in myopia control of the lens being very similar results compared to Misight, which is the FDA-approved lens for myopia control (the other lens is FDA-approved soft contact lens but not for myopia control).  We have no problem going into Misight but it is an extra $300 charge due to the increased cost of the contact lens.  We normally see you back for 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months are also included.  It is very similar to a normal daily lens meaning no cleaning it. A daily contact lens means you take it out at the end of the day throw it away and then put a new lens in the next morning. The child must wear contact lenses for 10 hours a day for 6 days a week. This has decreased nearsightedness progression by 50 to 60%. The nice thing with going into a treatment soft lens is if the prescription does change within the year we can change it very easily due to boxes coming in 90 packs. This is very similar to a typical daily contact lens but has different optics in the contact lens. It has a peripheral defocus in the lens to slow down the progression. I will explain how this works below after the next option. 

         The last option at this time is an ortho-k this is a contact lens you sleep in (the only contact lens I recommend sleeping in) and then wake up in the morning and see without wearing anything, no need for glasses or other contact lenses. You do need to sleep in them every night, some people can get away with only sleeping in them every other night but I only guarantee one day not two. It does this by reshaping the corneal for you to see and this causes the peripheral defocus (important later). This is like a temporary LASIK Having a similar 50 to 60% decrease in myopia (nearsightedness) progression. The lens we use is the Euclid ortho-k lens which uses the material with the highest DK/t (oxygen permeability) than any other ortho-k lens. We can go into the Acuvue Abiliti ortho-K the only FDA-approved ortho-k for myopia control (the other is FDA-approved ortho-k but not for myopia control) again for the extra $300. The Euclid lens has shown similar myopia control properties. This is made of gas-permeable material meaning there is some lens awareness with the contact lens that does get better the longer you wear the lens. The thing is you only sleep with the contact lens on and you won't feel it while your eyes are closed. Our goal is to see you back in 1 day after fitting the lens then 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, then 6 months. There can be extra visits besides that within the 3 months due to the fitting of the lens and of course, covered with the initial fee. The lens itself can last multiple years. The yearly follow-up does increase to $300 extra a year due to evaluating the lens but if you need to replace the lens that money goes to the cost of the lens and includes the 6-month follow-up. The other two option (treatment soft lens and atropine) is the same $1500 every year. The risk for ortho-k, in recent studies, to cause infection is less than the traditional daily wear of a traditional monthly contact lens. Ortho-K lens has been around for over 20 years but lens material technology has made these extremely safe in recent years.  

          How both the daily wear treatment soft lens and the ortho-k work is by putting the peripheral retina into focus. Normal Glasses and contact lens put the peripheral retina defocus behind the retina causing the brain to think if it grew it would come into focus which actually makes it worse by causing you/child to become more nearsighted (myopic). Once we put the peripheral retina into focus this tells the brain that if we grow it will make everything a lot worse. Causing the retina to grow less. All studies I referenced in slowing down the myopia progression, all included an axial length decrease in growth along with a decrease change in the glasses/contact lens prescription compared to placebo. Sometimes that placebo was the same child using a standard contact lens in one eye and ortho-k and/or the treatment soft lens in the other. Don't forget this doesn't just decrease their glasses/contact prescription for the future it also decreases diseases in the future. Like said before setting up the child with a healthier vision in the future.