Contact lenses slow myopia in children

If your reaction to that headline was not to marvel that contact lenses could slow myopia but to shake your head in amazement that grownups got kids to wear contact lenses, we are with you. But we found that it’s not a problem to fit younger kids in contact lenses.

A study by The Ohio State University and the University of Houston has shown that multifocal contact lenses slowed the progression of myopia (or nearsightedness, which is what you have if you’re wearing your glasses on top of your head while you’re reading this) in children as young as seven. At issue is the tendency for children’s eyes to grow too long from front to back. The multifocal lenses add focusing power to the eyes, which slows the growth that causes myopia. You can check out the full study here.