Published Aug 13, 2026 | 11:00 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 13, 2026 | 11:00 AM
Children today spend more time indoors, doing prolonged near work and using digital devices. (iStock)
Synopsis: As childhood myopia rises in India, a new generation of spectacle lenses claims to do more than correct blurry vision. This feature examines the science behind myopia-control glasses, what clinical trials have found, who can benefit from them, and why ophthalmologists say they can slow, but not stop or reverse, a child’s worsening eyesight.
The message catches the eye. An ophthalmic clinic’s advertisement tells parents that specialised myopia-control lenses can help build “a happier and healthier future” for their children.
Alongside the promise are the pictures of premium spectacle lenses which could “improve vision” and slow the progression of myopia, or short-sightedness.
For generations, spectacles have helped children see the classroom blackboard, road signs and distant objects more clearly. If the ailment increased a year later, another pair followed.
Today, ophthalmologists across India are debating the notion that glasses could influence a child’s eyesight.
An AIIMS-led systematic review and meta-analysis of 59 studies involving nearly 2.9 lakh schoolchildren found that 7.5% of Indian children aged between five and 15 years are myopic.
While its prevalence is higher in urban children, researchers found that rural India is catching up rapidly. It led researchers to conclude that myopia is an emerging public health problem requiring urgent attention.
The growing burden has changed the conversation in eye clinics. Instead of merely asking how to correct a child’s vision, ophthalmologists are now wondering whether they can slow the disease itself.
The answer, according to a growing body of clinical evidence, is yes, but only to a point.
Specially designed spectacle lenses have been shown to slow the progression of myopia in many children by reducing the rate at which the eyeball grows. They do not stop myopia altogether or reverse existing short-sightedness, but doctors say slowing progression could reduce the lifetime risk of vision-threatening complications associated with high myopia.
“Earlier, glasses were mainly used to help people have better vision. But today, the same lenses can do more than clear vision. They can help slow the progression of myopia,” Dr Rekha B Patil, Consultant Ophthalmologist at Fortis Hospital, Bengaluru, told South First.
“They are not a cure but an important part of modern myopia management, particularly when started at an earlier age in children at higher risk for rapid progression,” she opined.
The shift represents one of the biggest changes in paediatric ophthalmology over the past decade.
“There is a very important distinction,” Dr Amod Nayak, consultant ophthalmologist at Dr Agarwal Eye Hospital in Whitefield, Bengaluru, said. “Traditional single-vision spectacles are designed primarily to give the child a clear vision. They correct the existing refractive error but do not specifically aim to influence the biological process responsible for myopia progression.”
“Myopia-control spectacle lenses have an additional optical design intended to slow the elongation of the eyeball, which is the structural change underlying childhood myopia,” he told South First.
That emphasis on axial elongation, rather than spectacle power alone, reflects how doctors now think about the condition.
“The length of the eyeball is very important because excessive eye growth increases the lifetime risk of serious eye problems such as retinal detachment, myopic macular degeneration and glaucoma,” Dr Patil said.
“Even if a child still becomes slightly more myopic, reducing axial elongation can lower the chances of these complications later in life. So our goal is not only to reduce the power of the lenses, but also to protect long-term eye health.”
Doctors are already seeing why this matters. “I am seeing more children with myopia, and importantly, I am seeing it at younger ages and with faster progression than we traditionally encountered,” Dr Nayak said.
“There is certainly a genetic component, but our environment and lifestyle have changed dramatically. Children today spend more time indoors, doing prolonged near work and using digital devices, while spending less time outdoors.”
If myopia can be slowed rather than corrected, the next question is whether the evidence behind these specialised lenses is strong enough to change routine eye care.
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The idea that spectacles can slow myopia is no longer based on theory alone.
Over the past decade, researchers have tested several specialised spectacle lenses in children through randomised controlled trials, the highest standard of clinical evidence. While each lens uses a different optical design, they all aim to achieve the same outcome: slowing the growth of the eyeball.
“There are many clinical studies that show these lenses can slow the increase in spectacle power and the growth of the eyeball, which is an important marker of myopia progression,” Dr Patil said.
“We now have enough evidence to consider them as one of the treatment options for appropriate children. However, the choice should always depend on the child’s age, rate of progression, family history and lifestyle, rather than using the same approach for everyone.”
One of the earliest studies to demonstrate this followed children wearing specially designed Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) spectacle lenses for three years. It found that children who wore these lenses slowed the progression of myopia compared with their counterparts wearing regular glasses. Those who switched from ordinary lenses to DIMS also saw a slowing of progression.
Another randomised clinical trial evaluated spectacle lenses incorporating highly aspherical lenslets (HAL), a technology later commercialised in Essilor’s Stellest lenses. Over two years, children wearing HAL lenses had 0.80 dioptres less myopia progression and 0.35 mm less axial elongation than those wearing conventional single-vision spectacles. It translated to about a 55% reduction in myopia progression. The benefit was greatest among children who wore the lenses for at least 12 hours each day.
In simple terms, the children’s eyesight still worsened, but at a much slower rate than in children wearing ordinary glasses. The slower growth of the eyeball is important because longer eyes are associated with a higher lifetime risk of conditions such as retinal detachment, glaucoma and myopic macular degeneration.
More recently, the Clinical Evaluation of MyoCare in Europe (CEME) trial studied ZEISS MyoCare lenses in 234 children aged six to 13 years. After one year, children wearing the specialised lenses had 0.21 dioptres less myopia progression and 0.14 mm less axial elongation than children wearing conventional spectacles. Researchers also found that fewer children wearing MyoCare became rapid progressors during the study.
Children wearing the MyoCare lenses still became more short-sighted, but their eyesight deteriorated more slowly than that of children wearing regular glasses. The slower growth of the eyeball is important because it may lower the child’s lifetime risk of serious eye conditions linked to high myopia.
Taken together, the trials suggest that specially designed spectacle lenses consistently outperform conventional single-vision glasses in slowing childhood myopia, even though the magnitude of benefit differs between studies.
“I would describe the evidence as increasingly convincing, although not identical for every lens and not yet the end of the story,” Dr Nayak said.
“We have multiple randomised controlled trials involving several different spectacle-lens technologies. I think these lenses have crossed the threshold from being merely an interesting optical concept to being a legitimate evidence-based option for myopia management.”
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The growing evidence does not mean every child with myopia should immediately switch to specialised lenses.
Doctors said the greatest benefit is seen in children who are at higher risk of developing high myopia.
“The most important children to identify are those at higher risk of progression,” Dr Nayak said. These include children who develop myopia at a young age, those whose prescription is increasing by around 0.50 dioptres or more each year, children with a strong family history of myopia, increasing axial length, or those who spend very little time outdoors while engaging in prolonged near work.
Dr Patil advised parents against making decisions based solely on the spectacle prescription.
“If the child is young, has rapidly increasing myopia, or has a strong family history, specialised myopia-control lenses may be a good option,” she said. “The child should first have a detailed eye examination to understand the risk of progression.”
Equally important, she said, is setting realistic expectations.
“Parents need to understand these lenses are designed to slow the progression of myopia, not halt or reverse it. Eventually a child may still require stronger glasses, but the increase may happen more gradually. This is important because slowing progression can mean a lower risk of future eye problems.”
Dr Nayak offered a similar caution.
“The word ‘control’ needs to be interpreted carefully,” he said. “These lenses do not stop myopia completely in every child, and they certainly do not reverse existing myopia. What they aim to do is slow the rate at which myopia progresses.”
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Although ophthalmologists said the evidence is convincing, they also acknowledged that the field is still evolving.
Most clinical trials have followed children for one to three years, with only limited data extending beyond that period. Researchers are still studying how long the benefits persist, whether myopia progresses more rapidly after treatment is stopped, and how these lenses perform across different populations, including Indian children.
Another consideration is that many of the major trials have been funded by lens manufacturers or involved company-affiliated researchers. Both ophthalmologists interviewed for this story said that industry funding should prompt scrutiny of study design rather than outright dismissal of the findings.
“Many of these trials are randomised, well conducted and have been published in peer-reviewed journals,” Dr Patil said. “While we always welcome more independent research, the current evidence is strong enough to support their use in appropriate patients as part of a comprehensive myopia management plan.”
Dr Nayak echoed the same view, noting that different manufacturers using different optical technologies have reported similar clinical benefits, increasing confidence that the effect is not confined to a single product.
For now, specialists emphasised that these lenses should be viewed as one component of myopia management rather than a standalone solution. Regular eye examinations, adequate outdoor activity, healthy visual habits, and, where appropriate, treatments such as low-dose atropine eye drops continue to play important roles.
As evidence grows, the biggest change may not be the spectacles themselves, but the way doctors think about childhood myopia. Rather than waiting for a child’s prescription to worsen year after year, ophthalmologists are increasingly trying to intervene early to slow eye growth and reduce the risk of vision-threatening complications later in life.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
