Myopia has been getting a lot of press lately due to the rapid increase of cases. From 1970-2004 the frequency of myopia almost doubled to roughly 42% of the US population. In many Asian countries 80-90% of school aged children have myopia. While Ortho K is a fantastic treatment option to reduce the progression of myopia, another option has recently become more popular. Multifocal contacts that are designed specifically to defocus the peripheral vision to reduce myopic progression.
Multifocal contacts for myopia control are daily disposable which reduces the rate of infection and the need to clean them. A major study of contacts in children aged 8-12 showed that they were overwhelmingly favored by both the child and parent. The benefits cited in by the participants were: ease of use, improved self esteem, improved visual ability, and decreased risk of eye injury.
