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Specialized lenses for children

ZEISS Myopia Management lenses

Specialized care for kids’ eyes.
  • A teenager and two younger children lie on the floor wearing ZEISS Myopia lenses.
  • Is your little one shortsighted or showing signs of myopia?
  • Are you noticing behavioral changes that might be linked to vision?
  • Are you concerned about their eye health in the long run?
It’s good you’re here. Managing progressive myopia in children early on can help avoid serious vision issues later in life. ZEISS Myopia Management lenses are designed to help slow the progression of myopia in kids up to 12 years old – and give them clear, comfortable vision at the same time.

Making sense of myopia.

Realizing your child’s eyesight isn’t what it should be can be daunting for any parent. We’re here to help you manage and preserve your child’s visual health now and in the future. Before looking into solutions, let’s start with a basic understanding of myopia in children.

  • Illustration of a myopic eye showing that light is focused in front of the retina.

    Myopia, also called nearsightedness or shortsightedness, is a form of visual impairment that causes blurred distance vision because light focuses in front of the retina of the eye. The occurrence of myopia in children is becoming a growing concern worldwide.1

    Progressive myopia, also referred to as early onset myopia or juvenile myopia, is shortsightedness in children that worsens rapidly year after year because the eye continues to grow longer than it should at a certain age. If not managed, this can develop into high myopia – a severe form of shortsightedness that can lead to serious complications later in life.

  • A shortsighted man wearing glasses holding a toddler.

    Genetics

    Children of myopic parents are more likely to become nearsighted. One myopic parent could double the risk for future myopia, while two myopic parents could increase the risk up to six times.2

    Children drawing on the floor, holding their eyes close to the paper.

    Visual habits

    Do phones cause myopia? Can screen time cause myopia? Increased near work such as intense activity with digital devices or books likely contributes to the growing prevalence of myopia in kids.3

    Little girl in a dark living room looking at a tablet.

    Environment

    Evidence suggests that a lack of natural light and not enough time outdoors may contribute to myopia progression.3

  • A little girl rubbing her eyes while doing school work.

    Early onset of myopia implies more years of progression, but it also tends to progress faster in younger children. Myopes below the age of seven are therefore at greater risk of developing high myopia.4

    If the visual system of a young child does not perform optimally, it can negatively influence their development.3 This in turn can affect their vision-related learning capabilities and self-confidence, and could make it harder for them to reach their full potential.

    That’s why the best time to consult a professional and start treating myopia is as soon as possible.
A boy wearing ZEISS Myopia Management lenses leaning on a gymnastic ball and holding a magnifying glass in front of one eye.

One pair, two jobs.

Multi-tasking mastered.

Standard single vision glasses and contact lenses commonly correct shortsightedness – BUT they don’t address its progression. Progressive myopia calls for specialized visual aids to correct distance vision AND control the further elongation of a child’s eyes.

Based on over a decade of ZEISS research and development in the field of myopia management, our multi-tasking myopia glasses are designed to give kids clear, comfortable vision and slow the progression of myopia at the same time.

Additional tips and treatments
Managing myopia in children.

What can parents do to help?

Whether they have myopia or not, all kids can benefit from:

At least two hours of outdoor time is recommended to prevent or delay the onset of myopia.5
A young boy wearing ZEISS Myopia Management lenses on his bike outside.
Avoid close reading distances, take regular breaks and consciously monitor your kid’s screen time.5
Two girls looking at digital devices at the suggested distance of more than 20 cm.
Early detection and management of myopia are key. We recommend annual eye exams.
A little boy’s eyes are examined with a ZEISS IOLMaster.
Eyeglass lenses are only effective when children wear them. This is also true for myopia management lenses.
A young boy wearing ZEISS MyoCare lenses looks straight into the camera.

What options are available?

There is no ”one-and-only“ solution for myopia. An eye care expert will consider many different factors to determine the best treatment option for your child. Here are some options:

Easy, effective and non-invasive – they correct and manage myopia at the same time.
Pink eyeglass frame with ZEISS MyoCare lenses on a blue balloon.
Children can wear special hard contact lenses overnight to slow myopia and provide clear vision during the day by temporarily changing the shape of the cornea.
Illustration of a Ortho-K contact lens.
Some soft contact lenses address myopia progression with special designs. Kids can wear them during the day.
An illustration of soft myopia contact lenses.
Your eye care professional might prescribe pharmaceuticals, such as a low dose of atropine drops.
An illustration of an eyedropper pipette.

All in perfect balance.

Its function won’t spoil their fun.

Children should be able to have fun without any restrictions. A lens that is effective in managing myopia progression should also be comfortable, provide clear vision, and look good. This is a challenging task for lens designers, but one that ZEISS experts take to heart.

When wearing ZEISS Myopia Management lenses, your child will still be able to read, play outdoors, do sports and more. Despite its intricate designs, they look like regular glasses and they provide full UV protection up to 400 nm.

ZEISS MyoCare is our latest myopia management innovation, incorporating scientific concepts from proven research, evidence-based learnings and effective treatments.

ZEISS MyoCare and MyoCare S lenses feature patented microstructures, called Cylindrical Annular Refractive Elements (C.A.R.E.) to slow the elongation of the eyeball while delivering good, comfortable vision. MyoCare lens designs consider children’s varying ability to adapt to lenses, especially at different ages.6

MyoCare® lenses with ZEISS C.A.R.E technology.

A close-up illustration of the ZEISS MyoCare lens design for myopia management in children.
CORRECTION Central clear zone
Illustration of a ZEISS MyoCare lens showing a clear zone in the middle correcting vision by focussing light on the retina.

A central zone provides children with clear, sharp vision when looking straight through their ZEISS MyoCare glasses.
Wearability Balance for busy eyes
Illustration showing the functional zone of a ZEISS MyoCare lens with alternating defocus and correction zones.

The ClearFocus design is incorporated in the lens to deliver comfortable vision in all directions by optimizing the back surface of the lens. Together with the functional zone of our ZEISS MyoCare lenses, which features alternating management and correction zones at a 50:50 ratio, this provides the balance for effectivity and wearability.7
MANAGEMENT Functional zone
Illustration of a ZEISS MyoCare lens with C.A.R.E. elements creating defocus zones to slow myopia progression.

Special C.A.R.E.® elements are incorporated on the lens surface in concentric rings from the edge of the central clear zone to the edge of the lens. Together with alternating regular correction zones this forms the functional zone.

The results.

  • 95%

    Nearly all children wearing ZEISS MyoCare claim that their distance vision is very good.7

  • 93%

    All rated near vision as good or very good.7

  • 70%

    With ZEISS MyoCare, eye length growth in kids aged 7 to 12 comes 70% on average closer to that observed in normal-sighted children.8

  • 68%

    With ZEISS MyoCare S, eye length growth in kids aged 7 to 12 comes 68% on average closer to the normal physiological development of the eye.7

The members of our ZEISS Myopia Management family.

While ZEISS MyoCare is our most recent innovation to tackle progressive myopia, your eye care professional might consider one of our other solutions. Here’s a quick overview9:

  • ZEISS MyoKids

    Schematic illustration of the ZEISS MyoKids lens design: the upper half of the lens supports distance vision and the bottom supports near vision.

    These lenses make use of accommodative lag management, which is known to result in a potential reduction of myopia progression10. The top of the lens provides clear vision at all distances11 while a bottom zone manages the accommodative lag during near vision tasks.12

  • ZEISS MyoVision / Pro / Ace

    Schematic Illustration of a large central zone optimized to provide clear vision for straight ahead and inferior gaze; the peripheral zone reduces defocus at the periphery of the eye and incorporates features to slow down the progression of myopia.

    The lens is designed to reduce defocus at the periphery of the eye and thus slow the progressing of myopia. The central part of the lens allows for clear vision and the peripheral part of the lens incorporates features to slow down the progression of myopia.

  • ZEISS MyoCare8

    Schematic illustration of a lens incorporating ring-shaped elements to slow progression of myopia.

    The ZEISS MyoCare lens is designed to introduce a mechanism of action (a signal) at the retina of the eye to help slow the progression of myopia. The lens has ring shaped elements that alternate with zones that correct for distance refractive error of the eye. In combination, they deliver simultaneous myopic defocus, or in other words, the eye receives simultaneous competing blur and clear images, at the retina of the eye. A central clear area that does not contain the ring-like elements corrects the distance refractive error.

Let’s recap.

What else to consider?

Let’s make sure your kid’s eyes are covered.

A good lens contains many ingredients.

Your child’s eyes

Does your child need Myopia Management lenses? This will depend on the severity and rate of their myopia progression. It’s best to leave the decision to a professional and seek advice today.  

Your child’s lifestyle

As a parent, it’s important to promote healthy visual habits such as time outdoors and not too much screen time. If your child doesn’t need myopia management lenses but only needs “normal” lenses, ZEISS SmartLife Young is a great choice – it’s made for children’s connected lifestyle.

Your child’s face & frame

The size and position of myopia management lenses can have an influence on their performance. The right frame and a good lens fitting are therefore really important. Ask your eye care professional for advice.  

Eye protection

As long as they’re wearing ZEISS lenses, your little one’s eyes will have full UV protection. Want glasses that block blue light or have a sunglass tint as well? Ask your eye care professional about your options.

Thickness & weight

Cute faces shouldn’t have to hide behind thick heavy glasses. Ask your eye care professional about our wide range of lens materials and indices – for glasses that look and feel as good as possible.

Durability & care

Level up ZEISS lenses with a host of added benefits from our huge family of DuraVision®  lens coatings. Ask your eye care professional about your options.

Any questions?

  • It’s normal for children’s eyes to change as they grow older. Their eyesight might get worse as their vision system develops – whether or not they wear glasses. A dramatic change in vision in a short period of time, however, is a telling sign of progressive myopia. In this case, a lack of treatment could cause myopia to get worse faster – especially in children under age seven.4 While standard single vision lenses won’t slow myopia, special glasses might help.

    Myopia management lenses can only do their job if they’re on your little one’s face. Be sure to have your child wear them as much as possible.

  • Unfortunately, there is no way to reverse myopia in children, but luckily there are ways to manage it. In addition to solutions like special eyeglasses, orthokeratology, soft contact lenses and pharmaceutics, lifestyle changes can also make a difference. Taking regular breaks, reducing near-vision tasks and spending time outdoors can help slow the progression of myopia.

    Contact an eye care professional to find the best solution for you or your child.

  • A person with myopia can see near objects clearly but distant objects will look blurry. That’s why we also call it short-sightedness or near-sightedness. Myopia is measured in diopters and indicated with a minus (-) sign. Mild myopia lies within the range between -0.25 to -2.00 diopters and moderate myopia between -2.25 and -5.00. Anything more than -5.00 diopters is classified as high myopia, indicating very poor distance vision.
  • 1

    Williams KM, Verhoeven VJ, Cumberland P, et al. Prevalence of refractive error in Europe: the European Eye Epidemiology (E(3)) Consortium. Eur J Epidemiol. 2015;30(4):305-315. doi:10.1007/s10654-015-0010-0.
  • 2

    Morgan IG, He M, Rose KA. Epidemic of pathologic myopia: What Can Laboratory Studies and Epidemiology Tell Us? Retina. 2017;37(5):989-997. doi: 10.1097/IAE.0000000000001272

  • 3

    Sankaridurg P, Tahhan N, Kandel H, Naduvilath T, Zou H, Frick KD, Marmamula S, Friedman DS, Lamoureux E, Keeffe J, Walline JJ, Fricke TR, Kovai V, Resnikoff S. IMI Impact of Myopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2021 Apr 28;62(5):2.   
  • 4

    Sankaridurg PR, Holden BA. Practical applications to modify and control the development of ametropia. Eye (Lond). 2014 Feb;28(2):134-41. doi: 10.1038/eye.2013.255.
  • 5

    Morgan IG, Wu PC, Ostrin LA, Tideman JWL, Yam JC, Lan W, Baraas RC, He X, Sankaridurg P, Saw SM, French AN, Rose KA, Guggenheim JA. IMI Risk Factors for Myopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2021;62(5):3. Németh J, Tapasztó B, Aclimandos WA, et al. Update and guidance on management of myopia. European Society of Ophthalmology in cooperation with International Myopia Institute. Eur J Ophthalmol. 2021;31(3):853-883.
  • 6

    Hong Kong Polytechnic University owns granted patents (including Chinese patent: CN103097940) on annular concentric lens for myopia control, which are licensed to Carl Zeiss. Carl Zeiss started in 2021 to develop in collaboration with Wenzhou Medical University the latest cylindrical annular refractive elements technology for eyeglass lenses that is used in MyoCare lens designs.
  • 7

    Alvarez-Peregrina C., et al. (2024, April 12-14). Vision, confort y tiempo de adaptacion a un nuevo diseno de lente oftalmica para el control de miopia [Conference presentation abstract]. OPTOM 2024, Madrid, Spain.
  • 8

    Ohlendorf, A., et al. (2024, May 5-9). Myopia control efficacy through Emmetropic Progression Ratio:1-year of lens wear with cylindrical annular refractive elements (CARE) [Conference presentation abstract]. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, United States. EPR for 7-12 year old children as sample size for ages 6 and 13 was small. When the entire sample of 6 to 13 years were considered, EPR for ZEISS MyoCare was 71%.
  • 9

    The images shown are for  illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the product.
  • 10

    Gwiazda JE, Hyman L, Norton TT, et al. Accommodation and related risk factors associated with myopia progression and their interaction with treatment in COMET children. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci.2004;45:2143–2151.

  • 11

    Acceptance wearer trial aimed at the determination and confirmation of the acceptance, satisfaction level and adaptation to ZEISS MyoKids eyeglass lens design by wearers in the target group (myopic children), n=252 myopic children, supervised by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong and Sun Yat-Sen University Vision Department of Eye Health, Guangzhou, China, 2017.
  • 12

    Schilling T, Ohlendorf A, Varnas SR, Wahl S. Peripheral design of progressive addition lenses and the lag of 57 accommodation in myopes. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017; 58:3319–3324. DOI:10.1167/ iovs.17-21589