Myopia (nearsighted) Control Clinic

Many parents are eager to know if myopia progression can be stopped or reduced in their children. Apart from encouraging the child to spend time outdoors frequently, there are recent reports from many clinical studies to suggest that children with myopia who continuously received low dose atropine eyedrops are less likely to have progression in their nearsightedness when compared to a similar cohort of children who didn’t use the eyedrops.

The low dose atropine (formulated by our pharmacy and needs doctor’s prescription) is safe and rarely has side effects.It is administered once daily till adulthood. Uncommon side effects include sensitivity to bright lights and blurred reading vision. However, these side effects are totally reversible once the treatment is discontinued.

The use of the atropine eye drops is very common in Asian countries where myopia prevalence in children is very high. Please note that this is an “off-label” treatment for myopia as it is not FDA approved.

You will need to bring your child to see our ophthalmologist and optometrist for a thorough eye examination and discuss this treatment option before embarking on atropine treatment.