A new report from the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) study, funded by the National Eye Institute, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association presents additional evidence that myopic children wearing multifocal contact lenses were able to reduce the rate of myopic progression by about 43% over a period of three years. 

Children are at increased risk of developing myopia because of increased near work due to increasing screen time on computers and mobile devices and less time playing outdoors.

Myopia, or near sightedness, is defined as a refractive condition of a non-accommodating eye in which parallel rays of light entering the eye are brought to a focus in front of the retina. Therefore, the uncorrected myopic eye has blurry vision when looking at objects in the distance while vision is clear for near objects.

Myopia in children is currently corrected with single vision glasses and contact lenses.  Unfortunately, myopia often worsens with a need for stronger prescriptions as children get older.