1. What is myopia due to ?

It the due to the eye ball growing longer.

2. What do atropine eye drops do?

They strengthen the wall of the eyeball so that it does not grow longer.

3. Are atropine eyedrops comfortable?

They feel like water drops and are easy to use.

4. Is there a need to wear glasses with atropine drops?

Yes. Atropine drops control the worsening of myopia but it does not reshape the cornea like the Orthokeratology lenses or  MiSight lenses.

5. Would his eyes be sensitive to light and need reading glasses?

NO! That happens only when the dose of atropine is too high for your child. Atropine comes in a range of 0.01% to 1 % .

I don’t believe in using high doses of atropine. I start at 0.01% which is the lowest available dosage and has no side effects. If your child does not respond to atropine, we should be using other methods of myopia management instead of stepping up the dose of atropine and suffering the side effects. I have made sure we have all research proven methods to control your child’s prescription. Myopia increase is irreversible and we cannot sit around watching it increase. The side effects of myopia is far more concerning.

6. What are the side effects of starting ?

I would say almost none. The reason is that the dose we start on is the lowest at 0.01% so there is no risk of pupil dilatation or needing reading glasses. I would never go on high dose atropine as it means the atropine is not working to control the myopia and we should be relooking life style habits and Ortho K lenses.

7. Does it mean my child needs to be on the drops forever ?

No. Atropine is to strengthen the eyeball and to stop it from growing longer. Atropine only works on a growing eyeball in a child. So once your child’s myopia is stabilised,we can start to tail down the drops.

8. Can I stop the drops whenever I want?

Atropine drops must be stopped gradually by weaning them off and not stopped abruptly as the myopia may rebound. We will give you instructions on how to wean them off.

9. What if I run out of drops?

Please bring forward your appointment or call to ask if you can come collect a bottle of drops even if your child can’t come. Do not use the bottle for longer than a month as it loses its efficacy.

10. Can I buy atropine drops over the counter?

No because it is a drug that has to be prescribed and supervised by an ophthalmologist. Why? Because we are supervising myopia progressing and I want to be sure atropine drops is controlling the myopia well or we should be modifying the treatment. Like high blood pressure medication , we need to check that the dose is adequate for your child and to react quickly if the myopia is not controlled by re checking lifestyle habits and modulating the treatment.

11. Would I start my own child on atropine?

I get asked this question a lot. Mark is checked every three months for myopia ever since he was four years old and should he be myopic , I would without a doubt start him on it. It’s easy to instil the drops. My side effects of myopia is way higher than any side effect of atropine eye drops.