Top Tips to Break the Big Three Parent Barriers to Myopia Treatment

Help parents say yes by emphasizing the value of investing in their child’s future vision, kids’ ability to quickly achieve success as contact lens wearers,^†1 and to act now since myopia often gets worse and is irreversible.²

Parents trust their eye care professional when it comes to their child’s vision. However, their child’s myopia diagnosis and your recommended treatment of MiSight® 1 day* to help protect their blurry vision from getting worse over time^‡§ may cause initial concerns for some, and result in a hard “No” or a “Let me think about it” response.^3,4

Common reasons why parents initially say no to treatment are cost, concern their child is too young to wear contact lenses, and a “wait and see” mentality, the latter of which meaning parents want to hold off until the next appointment to see if their child’s vision has gotten worse before they commit to treatment.

Here are some impactful yet brief talking points from your peers successfully prescribing MiSight® 1 day, and other facts and resources that you can turn to in the exam room when you encounter these top three parent treatment barriers.

Barrier 1: Kids Ability to Successfully Wear Contact Lenses

Break this myth by sharing the science that children adapt quickly to contacts. In fact, children as young as eight can quickly learn to handle contact lenses and achieve a high level of capability within the first month.^†1

For parents concerned about potential adverse events such as ocular infections, point to study results that validate contact lens safety in young wearers.^1,3-5 

You can also share the robust scientific evidence behind MiSight® 1 day; specifically designed for age-appropriate children with myopia and regulatory approved in many countries around the world.^*3,4,6 In fact, the MiSight® 1 day clinical trial was the longest continuous running study of soft contact lenses for myopia control. Additionally, there were no serious adverse events related to contact lens wear across the entire MiSight® 1 day study.^7,8

“One of the things I tell parents is MiSight® 1 day is a daily disposable lens, and one of the things we always worry about with contact lenses is keeping them clean and keeping kids safe,” explains Dr. Eric Ritchey of the University of Houston College of Optometry. “MiSight® 1 day gives you a great option because the child puts the lenses in during the day, they’re going to see clearly during the day, and they remove the lenses at the end of the day.”^1,3,9

Another key point for your treatment discussion toolbox: most kids are highly motivated to wear contacts, and almost all age-appropriate children prefer to wear daily disposable contact lenses over glasses when given the option.^||1   A spectacle-free child can enjoy a heightened quality of life in the activities they enjoy and gain a confidence boost in their appearance.¹⁰

Dr. Kevin Chan of Treehouse Eyes explains to parents the quality of life benefits of contact lenses5 and how MiSight® 1 day can allow their child to enjoy the freedom of glasses when playing sports or doing homework.^§3

"And more importantly, I share that I've seen a lot of patients who have improved their self-esteem and gained more confidence in school and in their daily lives,"¹⁰ Dr. Chan adds. 

Barrier 2: Treatment Cost

For parents who are hesitant to pursue treatment due to cost, stress the value of investment and reinforce the fact that younger children with myopia are the most rapid progressors, and acting now can help minimize future trouble down the road.⁴ In this scenario, you can also emphasize that MiSight® 1 day has a 2 in 1 benefit with ActivControl® technology that fully corrects refractive error while also helping to control both axial length increase and myopia progression in children 8-12 at the initiation of treatment.^§3 And, since children with myopia need vision correction, you can reinforce the value of investment by suggesting parents can also give their child a treatment that can help protect their blurry vision from getting worse.^*‡§3,4

While myopia is irreversible,² Dr. Ashley Tucker of Bellaire Family Eye Care tells parents what they can change is getting their child into a treatment that can positively help their vision. “The MiSight® 1 day lenses have two purposes; the first purpose is to correct the child’s vision.^§3 It will give your child fantastic vision”.^1,3,9 She then explains the technology behind the lens and the treatment zones, which can help slow axial elongation,^§3 Dr. Tucker adds.

“Our goal is to at least slow the progression and the prescription by 50%, on average. And the MiSight® lens is more than capable of doing that,”^*¶**4,11 Dr. Tucker says.

Barrier 3: Wait and See

Instead of immediately acting on your treatment recommendation after their child is diagnosed with myopia, some parents may opt for a “wait and see” approach until the child’s next appointment.  

In these instances, you can share the following: 

• Because myopia gets worse as children grow and can’t be reversed, there’s a real benefit to early detection and treatment.² 
• However, you can’t go back in time, and prior change doesn’t predict the future. 
• MiSight® 1 day contact lenses have been shown to reduce the rate of myopia progression in children aged 8-12 at the initiation of treatment by nearly 60% on average over a 3-year period as measured by spherical refraction^.§3
• Further, as myopia worsens, it also increases the risk for eye health complications down the road, so it’s important to start treatment as soon as possible.^12-15

Dr. Maria Liu of UC Berkeley School of Optometry delivers two main points to parents who indicate they want to wait to act on treatment until their child’s next appointment.

“Number one, myopia is not a benign refractive error. It’s a disease. Second, early intervention is the key. Now we have MiSight®, which is the first contact lens for myopia control.^{*†† I} would try my best to engage the patient as early as  possible,” Dr. Liu adds. “During axial elongation, we start to see a lot of irreversible changes in all different layers of the posterior structure of the eyes.”² 

“The earlier the intervention, the better you’re able to preserve the functions of all of the tissue”, she adds. “So, early intervention is the key regardless of the modality of the treatment”,⁴ Dr. Liu continues.

Final Takes

If you face these three barriers to treatment in the exam room, don’t be deterred. Remember, you are a parent’s vital and valued source for their child’s vision.

Are you looking for more resources? You can access a wealth of additional peer insight on parent communication strategies and myopia management learnings for you and your entire team at CooperVision’s Online Success Center.